Chapter 9 - Simple Solution

Thanks to the sandy shores of Lake Hylia, the horse thief wasn't difficult to track, and conveniently, the hoof falls led directly there.

Still, it took over half an hour for Link and Zelda to arrive on foot, and the trek hadn't been a peaceful one. It seemed as if octoroks were trying to overthrow Misty Falls, and without the speed Epona and Frost would've provided, it was impossible to simply ride past the creatures.

So each one became an irritating pain that had Link ready to pull his hair out.

He was only grateful the tracks were so easy to follow, though they didn't always continue in a straight line. Instead, a few gaps existed where it looked as if Epona might've attempted to tug her reins away from the thief, while other signs suggested they'd been slowed down by the octoroks.

On the one hand, Link hoped that was the case, but on the other, he also worried their horses had been harmed by the rock-spitting creatures infesting the paths. Sadly, the chances of it happening seemed good when they came across hand prints in the sandy ground as if Frost might've thrown the thief after being smacked by one of the octorok's projectiles.

Still, the horses were nowhere in sight, meaning the thief had simply remounted and continued on.

Thankfully, the fog of Misty Falls faded away as they went, allowing more sunlight in from a cloudless, blue sky above as they finally reached an exit from the area's numerous winding paths.

With a cold breeze blowing by, they emerged onto the sandy shores of Lake Hylia. Small waves lapped at the sand several yards away as the sapphire waters stretched on nearly as far as the eye could see. Only mountains were visible in the remote distance, and they almost appeared to be floating due to the haze created by the water's glare of reflected sunlight. There were also a few islands toward the southeast which most certainly belonged to Zora's Domain.

But the best part of the scenery was Epona.

Now rushing toward them from the northern shores, she didn't stop until she reached Link, instantly bumping her nose against his shoulder. Grinning, he rubbed her muzzle and immediately started checking for marks resulting from any rocks that might've struck her in Misty Falls.

Thankfully, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, and he asked, "Did you finally tug your reins away from the thief?"

Epona snorted as if that were precisely the case, and Link smirked—until he noticed one of his satchels was missing.

Rolling his eyes, he supposed it didn't matter since they still needed to find Frost, and he mentioned his missing belongings to Zelda, yet she didn't respond.

Turning to face her, he found the Princess staring out over the waters with obvious awe in her violet blue gaze just as she whispered, "It's so beautiful."

After yearning to see Lake Hylia for as long as she could remember, not even the trouble caused by a thief could ruin the moment her eyes met the waters for the first time. Adding to her awe was a sense of majesty present in the body of water that spoke to her in ways she could have never described. She only knew she'd remember this moment for as long as she lived, so consumed beholding the beautiful scenery she didn't realize Link was beholding her.

Zelda was right, the lake was indeed beautiful, but in his eyes, her own beauty outmatched it. He could've watched her all day just staring out across the waters with the wind whipping through her bronzed blonde hair and lifting the hem of her dress.

Still, he hadn't forgotten Zelda's admission of desiring to see Lake Hylia, or his own desire to take her there—and seeing her reaction was entirely worth the grief they'd experienced trying to reach it.

The notion made it difficult to interrupt the moment, but now that they had Epona back, it would be a lot easier to catch up with Frost. So they had a little time to spare, and he walked over to stand next to her, looking out over the waters with the words, "I'm glad you're finally getting to see it."

She gifted him with a smile that was even more dazzling than the water under the sun and took his hand. As if by instinct, their fingers thread together, and Link couldn't stop himself from pointing out, "Still, Lake Hylia isn't the most beautiful thing here."

Knowingly, she remarked, "If you say I'm the most—oh!"

The last came as he grinned sheepishly, telling her all she needed to know without words, and a laugh erupted from his chest when she playfully shoved his arm and shook her head as if having no idea what to do with him.

Yet her smile never waned, and she immediately hugged him as if unable to resist, whispering, "I know you didn't do it on purpose, but thank you for bringing me here."

"I would've done it anyway," he returned, once again finding it difficult to break away and continue their search.

But it became easier when Zelda lifted her head and gazed over his shoulder, remarking, "Oh, there's a home near the shore with smoke rising from the chimney."

Finally releasing her, Link turned around to see what she was talking about, and surely enough, a red house elevated on stilts stood several meters north of their position—the same direction from which Epona had rejoined them.

With three docks stretching out into the water where numerous boats were tethered and a small tool shed nearby, the horse tracks led directly there, and they wasted no time making their way toward it.

As they rounded the corner of the shed, Frost came into view tethered to a post next to the side of the home. Relieved to see him, Zelda immediately approached the horse and remarked, "I guess now all we need to do is find your missing satchel."

Nodding, they stopped long enough to inspect Frost, finding that he didn't have any visible marks—and Zelda's satchels were also gone.

Rolling her eyes, she ignored the stolen items for the moment in favor of casting the healing spell she'd learned in the fairy cave on both horses. That way, they'd know for sure any minor injuries sustained wouldn't cause the animals problems, and after Link tethered Epona next to Frost, he rounded the corner leading to the front of the home with Zelda right behind him.

There, they found a walkway made of planks leading from the docks to a ramp connecting with the home's front porch, and sitting at the bottom of the wooden incline was the thief. Crouched over their satchels, the young man was going through their things and tossing aside whatever he considered useless—until he came across Lyonel's flute which he regarded curiously.

It wasn't until Link's shadow crossed over him that he took notice of their presence, glancing back to see the Hylians coming up behind him.

Instantly, the thief gasped and pushed himself up to run away again, dropping the flute in the process. But Link wasn't having it, swiftly rushing forward to tackle him onto his stomach.

As sand flew around them, Zelda also moved in and grabbed the young man's arm, allowing Link to take the other and pull him onto his feet. Doing so, it was easy to see that he was scared, and didn't appear to have any truly malicious intentions. But that didn't stop him from trying to escape, starting by shoving Zelda away as she was physically weaker and easier to move from his path.

As a result, she stumbled backwards and landed on her hip against the walkway with a sharp yelp of pain.

And Link's response was immediate.

Balling his right fist, he sent it sailing into the thief's jaw, putting enough strength into it to send him falling backwards.

Landing only a few feet away from Zelda, he grunted and drew out, "Gah, okay! I give! Just don't do that again, you hit hard!"

Rolling his eyes with a low grumble, Link joined Zelda to help her up, though she didn't seem to be injured, or even still in pain. Instead, she was staring at him in surprise over the way he'd defended her—hoping all the while that her blush wasn't noticeable as this was hardly the time for notions of admiration.

So she let him help her up and confirmed that she was alright before informing the thief in response to his complaints, "Well it serves you right for stealing people's horses and going through their things! You really should be ashamed of yourself."

Sitting up while still rubbing his jaw, the thief replied, "I'm sorry, lady! But I'm not really a thief, honest! So maybe I did deserve it, but I only stole them because the rev–," he abruptly stopped and amended, "I mean, rupees are tight and my grandmother needs the money."

Link and Zelda exchanged a knowing look over the way he'd changed his wording, neither needing to ask if the other thought he was about to say the revolt—and it wasn't a surprise. Myriad said the revolt was forming around Lake Hylia and that several young people had joined, meaning he was likely one of them.

So they both shrugged and reached down to offer their hands and help him up.

In response, he peered up at them with confusion in his eyes. But if he thought their offer of assistance seemed strange after everything he'd done, he didn't comment on it and finally took their hands.

Once he was on his feet again, Link stepped back and asked, "What were you really going to say? The rev … ."

"Nothing!" he retorted loudly, continuing without pause, "Not a thing, honest. But look, don't tell my grandmother about this, alright? She's asleep right now, and she'd have my backside if she found out I stole horses. I mean, you caught me, so there's no harm done, right?"

Zelda arched a single brow before crossing her arms over her chest as Link planted a hand against his hip, neither of them sure if they should just let him get away with what he'd done so easily.

Seeing their looks, he cringed and drew out, "Oh come on!"

Link rolled his eyes as Zelda sighed. But before either could respond, the front door of the home opened and a woman's voice called out, "Cody! Where did you run off to, young man?"

Fidgeting at the sound of the voice calling him, Cody gave them a pleading look before taking off between them with the words, "I'm right here, Grandma!"

Turning around as he passed, Link and Zelda watched him heading toward an elderly woman now standing on the front porch. With long, curly gray hair, she was rather short and stood with the assistance of a cane while patiently waiting for her grandson to join her.

Keeping his voice low once they were alone, Link asked Zelda, "Should we tell her?"

Pursing her lips in consideration over the matter, she replied, "Well, we did find our horses. So I don't see the harm in keeping it a secret, though … ."

Trailing as she looked down at their belongings now strewn about the sand, she sighed and started the task of gathering everything to pack into the satchels, concluding, "With as loud as he is, I hope she's hard of hearing, otherwise he just got himself into trouble."

Link smirked, leaning down to help her, and in the process, they both listened in on the conversation between Cody and his grandmother as he asked her, "What's wrong, Grandma? Did you wake up?"

"I heard you yelling out here," she started, sounding less than happy over it. "Now what were you yelling about? And why do I hear horses?"

"Oh, well … um," Cody started, looking over at Link and Zelda before supplying, "we have visitors. They just came riding through."

The older woman seemed surprised, but also happy over the news, asking, "Oh really? Where?"

With their satchels packed once more, Link lifted them and followed Zelda toward the front porch. At the same time, Cody was helping his grandmother down the wooden ramp, and they met at the landing where he qualified, "They're right here. I … er," he paused, admitting, "I don't know their names yet though."

Without hesitation, Link reached out his hand in greeting and supplied, "I'm Link, and this is Zelda. And you are?"

Though the elderly woman was smiling, her blue eyes seemed to be staring off into space—and she reached her hand about a foot left of Link's as she replied, "I'm Lana, pleased to meet you, Link and Zelda."

Confused by the woman's bad sense of direction, Link glanced at Cody who pointed to his eyes in a manner that suggested she didn't have the best vision. So Link nodded and instantly turned his hand to take hers with a gentle shake and the response of, "Likewise."

Zelda followed suit, shaking the woman's hand before observing with a look about, "You have a very lovely home, ma'am."

"Oh, just call me Grandma, everyone else does," Lana instructed with a chuckle, adding, "and thank you. It's nice to get visitors after such a long time, especially ones who pass on such kind words."

"Oh?" Zelda started, lowering her hand from their shake with the question, "Are people not visiting the lake much anymore?"

Glancing in Zelda's direction—almost—Lana answered, "Not since all those fish tales about a huge monster in Lake Hylia started circulating. People used to come out to fish, and we made our living doing the same thing, as well as chartering boats for people to use, sometimes even selling them. But now, we have to stick to the shallows where the pickings are slim, which is really only enough to feed us and nothing more."

Link gave Zelda a knowing look as he replied by asking, "Would you believe it if I said we were looking for a boat in order to cross the lake?"

Cody gave them a look that suggested they were crazy while Lana just smiled and turned to walk back up the ramp while remarking, "Well I don't see why not! I haven't seen anything to be afraid of myself!"

Link and Zelda both smiled, knowing the reason why she hadn't seen anything, and her trek to sit in one of the chairs on her porch served as proof. On the way, Cody had to rush to push a few items from her path so she wouldn't trip and fall before sitting on a cushioned lounge chair.

Once settled, she exhaled a tired sigh as if the exertion of standing for so long had winded her. But she didn't seem too worn out to continue their conversation, setting her cane aside with the words, "We have quite a few boats docked in disuse, so you're welcome to borrow one if you're planning to bring it back. But I'd have to ask you to pay for it otherwise since rupees are tight."

"That's completely fair," Zelda replied, adding, "and I'd rather pay you to borrow it, especially since your grandson offered to care for our horses while we're gone."

"Did he? Well, he's a very kind boy," she returned with a chuckle as Cody stared at them incredulously.

Zelda simply smiled at him in return, qualifying, "That he is, and I'm sure he'll perform the task adequately, right, Link?"

Link wasn't certain he agreed, but he trusted Zelda's judgment, eyeing Cody with a stern expression while replying pointedly, "Yes, I'm very certain he would."

His hard tone of voice made Cody flinch before he addressed Lana by stating, "Uh, Grandma, I'll be back, I need to go make sure I tethered the horses tightly enough for them."

Chuckling, she pointed out, "See, he'll do a fine job watching them. Go on, Cody."

Nodding, Cody took off down the ramp, silently motioning at the Hylians to follow him.

Watching as he stopped a short distance from the side of the home, they moved to do so—and heard Lana continuing to speak as if they were still standing there.

The sound had Link giving a questioning look, but Cody just shook his head and spoke softly, "Don't worry, she talks to people all the time when they're not around. Just find a spot to come in on the conversation later. But listen … ," he trailed, lifting his hands in each of their directions before inquiring, "are you two insane?"

In turn, they both pursed their lips in a manner suggesting he was one to talk, and Cody rolled his eyes with a sigh, continuing on despite their lack of a response.

"Also, how can you trust me? I tried to steal your horses before, so you know I could try it again, don't you?"

"Really?" Zelda asked, pointing out, "Because I thought you said you only needed to sell them for rupees. But now that we're paying your grandmother to borrow a boat, stealing shouldn't be a temptation any longer. Unless there's another reason you need horses that—"

"No, no," Cody interrupted, muttering, "I get your point, and there's not."

Link grinned, amused by the way Zelda nearly entrapped him as she continued, "Good. Then the least you could do is look after them while we're gone. After all, you did cause us a good bit of grief, so it's only fair, and if you don't, we'll simply tell your grandmother what you tried to do. She seems to have good hearing anyway, so she'll notice if the horses are gone by the time we return."

Realizing now why Zelda qualified Cody for the task, Link couldn't help thinking it was a good idea after all. Cody didn't seem to have a problem with it either, yet he still wasn't convinced their plan to cross the lake was a good idea.

"Do you not get it?" Though his voice was still low, it bore urgency as he pointed toward the water and went on, "There is something out there, and if you go, you probably won't come back."

"Well, it's sweet of you to be concerned, Cody," Link started on a bland tone of voice, adding, "but think of it this way. We're paying to borrow the boat, and if we don't come back, you'll get our horses. So you have nothing to lose."

Slapping Cody's arm in a friendly manner, he turned to take their satchels back to Epona and Frost with Zelda right behind him.

Cody stared blankly, rubbing his arm where Link had slapped it while muttering to himself, "They're crazy." Exhaling a sigh, he followed them to their horses, saying more loudly, "Alright, alright, so I'll get something good for it either way. But what's in it for you? Why are you crossing the lake?"

"Considering you tried to steal our horses and went through our belongings, I don't think that's any of your business," Zelda retorted chidingly.

Cody looked down contritely as Zelda finished tying her satchel to Frost's saddle and announced, "I'm going to go see what kind of deal I can get for that red boat. It's small and it looks fast, so I think it'll suit our needs."

Link nodded in agreement, watching her adjourn to the front of the house again as he tied his own satchel to Epona, then turned to Cody with the question, "So, have you seen anything in the lake?"

Looking up, he nodded. "Yeah, but only out in the distance where the water's deeper and the best fishing was. Whatever it is, it's too big to swim into more shallow depths."

Considering what he'd seen with Lyonel, it made sense, and Link nodded before going to the front porch again with Cody just behind him. On the way, they could hear Zelda bargaining for one of the boats with the words, "The one with the red hull and white sails would be big enough to suit our needs, but we may be gone for a few days. So will that cost extra?"

"No, dear," Lana started. "I was willing to let you borrow one for free because no one else is lining up to go out right now. So it's not as if anyone will be inconvenienced. But if you really want to pay to borrow it, I'll ask a mere two hundred rupees. That boat was built by my grandson, and it's quite sturdy. Fast too, so you should be able to cross the lake and back in no time."

Hearing that, Link glanced at Cody skeptically, hoping Lana was right about her grandson's carpentry work because his thievery skills needed honing.

Seeing his look, Cody narrowed his brows defensively and said, "Hey, if there's one thing I can do, it's build. I'm the one who put up a lot of parts of this house before Grandpa died."

"He did," Lana supplied with a chuckle. "Afterward, he finished off the front porch by himself and even built a ramp to make things easier for me when my knees started going bad. He's a wonderful carpenter."

Zelda smiled, rummaging through her pouch to produce the rupees requested as payment before taking Lana's hand and placing them in her palm. "There, two hundred it is."

Smiling, Lana thanked her and handed the rupees to Cody while asking, "So why are you two needing to cross the lake? Do you have business with Zora's Domain?"

"You could say that," Zelda answered. "Do you know anything about it?"

"A little. I know they're very protective of their home, so if there's a so-called monster in the lake, it's probably their friend."

Thoughtfully, Lana sat back in her seat and qualified, "You know, it sings some very pretty music at night when it's quiet and no one's around. So I don't understand why everyone's so afraid of it."

"Because it's huge, grandma!" Cody announced as if he'd said as much fifty times already.

While they discussed it, Zelda narrowed her brows. Music? Ironically, the thought struck a chord, and Link noticed the look of enlightenment on her face, wondering what she was onto.

Yet she didn't take the time to explain, asking Lana, "Wait, what do you mean by music?"

Without pause, she explained, "It sings songs like whales do, which has actually helped me to sleep in these financially troubling times. So I guess I'm the only one who considers the beast friendly, just misunderstood."

With a smile curling her lips, Zelda replied, "Thank you, Grandma, you just helped me figure something out. So please pardon us for a moment. We're going to go look the boat over."

At that, she grabbed Link's hand and pulled him off toward the docks so swiftly he grunted, hearing Lana chuckling behind them as if excited to see what they might find. But once their footsteps faded away, and as Cody walked by while counting the rupees for her, she grabbed her cane and used it to smack his backside much harder than she looked to be capable of doing.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, rubbing the sting out of his butt while asking, "What'd I do!"

"That's what you get for stealing horses!" Lana announced, having heard the whole thing before she'd come outside, and sat her cane down again with a muttered, "Fool kids."

Out on the docks, Zelda stopped next to the boat they were planning to take and turned to Link, her eyes bright as she suggested, "Play the flute."

Uncertain, Link asked, "Now?" before considering her suggestion along with the song Lana said the guardian liked to sing—and it all made sense.

Smirking, he asked, "You think music might tame the savage beast?"

"It's worth a shot," Zelda returned with a smile. "I mean Myriad said complicated problems can have simple solutions, and I can't think of any other way we're going to convince the guardian to let us pass than by playing a song for it."

"Sounds simple enough to me," he replied, then glanced back at Lana's home with pursed lips and muttered, "It's just a good thing Cody didn't take it."