Hateno Village
Young Link realized he packed for nothing once he reached his bedroom. His clothing would need to go in the saddlebags on Grace, duh! 'Oh well,' he sighed, 'At least they're folded. Though walking all the way to the stables with all this stuff won't be fun.'
He could only hope that Link didn't fall asleep waiting on him by the time he was finally on his horse and cantering to the southern gates. When Twilight came into view, the corners of his mouth lifted into a grin.
"That happy to see me?" His descendant asked with a hint of sarcasm.
His eyes rolled as he shook his head, "In your dreams." From what he could tell, Link didn't appear to be annoyed with him, "Sorry I took forever to get here. I'm normally more on-time than this."
"You mean punctual? Don't worry, it's only noon." He hopped onto his mount, readying the reins.
"Well, I remember you saying it was a day's ride, so I figured we'd leave as soon as possible."
He shrugged, "Well in this case it is because I'm taking you. I'd rather not ride at night with you if I don't have to. If it were just me, Twilight and I would just power through after a quick break."
The Hero of Time frowned, "Link I'm not a baby, not to mention all the stuff I've managed to do on my own! If anything, it should be fine if we encounter monsters because we'd just run away!" 'Honestly does he regularly forget who he's talking about or is the fact that I look like a kid still a significant factor to all this?'
"I'll think about it." He glanced at his saddle bags, "Have everything?"
"By the holy goddesses I better, I've had a rough-ish morning."
That very obviously intrigued him, but instead of prying, he nodded and set off out the gates, leaving him to quickly follow behind. "This journey is pretty simple," he called over the sound of the passing wind, "We'll stick to the path until we go straight south to get to the East Post, then head east and stay on that path until we get to the Dueling Peaks Stable."
"Sounds like a plan!"
"I'll take care of any monsters. You just enjoy the view, okay?"
Young Link grinned in response, 'Awe, he remembers that I've only ever wanted to see the land! That's kind.'
The sky was slightly cloudy but was still it's same brilliant shade of blue. Today in particular, everything felt much more open, more inviting, even more adventurous, especially since it was just the young hero and his descendant. Occasionally, the shadows of blue herons would come into view on the passing waves of grass, his eyes filling with wonder when he looked to see their outstretched wings gliding in the wind.
'Dear goddesses, this land is so beautiful!' He thought as he bent down to feel the tall grass flow through his fingers.
"Oh look!" Link pointed toward a few trees that were grouped together.
A bright, orange-furred animal soon caught his attention as well, though he couldn't tell what it was yet, "What is it?"
"It's a fox! How rare to see one out in the open like this!"
He squinted his eyes as the path started to take them farther from it, "Yeah you're right! It's been a while since I've seen one of those."
The knight looked surprised to hear this, but now gestured straight ahead, "We'll keep going forward here, we should reach the East Post in the next fifteen minutes.
"Roger that!"
Soon they were waving to fellow guards who were at their stations and crossing Proxim Bridge. Young Link saw the upcoming mountain before the bridge, however, it was much more prominent that the mountain was quite literally split in half as they were riding straight towards it. "So uh, how did that happen to a mountain of all things?" He asked. There must be a story that fits the scale of strength it would take to break an entire solid rock into two.
Link thought for a moment, "I believe a dragon was who split the mountain in half."
"Whooaa! How did it do that!?" 'That's awesome!'
He scratched the back of his head, bashfully chuckling, "Well uh…I don't particularly remember everything, but all I know is that it was a dragon. Maybe my dad knows the whole thing."
"Whaaaat?" 'How does he not know?' "Well, why is it called 'Dueling Peaks?' Why make it sound like they're fighting?"
He simply shrugged, "I dunno, beats me. Though it would be kinda cool to see a mountain fight, or maybe there are stone taluses around or something." He scanned the immediate area to be sure.
"Dammit, you're kinda lame for not knowing," He commented with a monotone voice and a half-joking unimpressed expression.
Link looked back at him, there was a hint of feistiness in his eyes, "What the hell?! Listen here! I have more things to do than remember stuff about rocks!" His voice still managed to be tender, despite what he was saying.
He continued to tease him, "Link this stuff is literally your history dude, probably basic history too. That's embarrassing."
"Kid I'll actually strangle y—" A hand clapped over his mouth and his eyes widened.
Young Link smirked, an eyebrow lifting, "Uh huh? "
His descendant looked genuinely apologetic, "I was kidding! Sorry about that."
He waved his reaction away, "Oh that's all behind me now! No worries! Honestly I can laugh about it." 'Though, I'd be lying if I wasn't thinking about the fact that they might decide to track me to his house. I don't think I could forgive myself if they ever hurt anyone other than me for trying to get my mask...' For the time being, he had it tucked away along with his clothes in Grace's saddle bags.
"Still, I'd never hurt you, seriously."
They were passing through a small forest that came before the entrance to the split mountain. He crossed his arms, "Well with that attitude I'll never get to spar you."
"Why do you want to do that so bad? You already showed me how well you could show off. I'm not sure what you're trying to prove." Link had a point.
"What? Trust me, I think I'm done proving things to people, mostly. We'd spar out of good fun and practice." 'But like I'm still wondering if I'm better than you, y'know? It's just sheer curiosity and wonder that after using a sword for what feels like forever, I'd be able to beat you… easily , I hope. Like an old man testing his grandkids' abilities.'
"I dunno, I still get the feeling that it won't be a good idea, but hey maybe."
The two heroes passed through the split between the Dueling Peaks. A sharp breeze lightly sprayed water from the river into the air, providing the occasional mist as they rode by. At the next turn was Dueling Peaks Stables, it looked like all the previous ones they'd been to on their last long journey. When they arrived, they tied up their mounts and rested outside by the cooking pot. By that point they'd been riding for three hours.
Young Link enjoyed being able to sit without having his legs spread apart in the saddle, it really wears on the hips and thighs to ride like that for so long. His stomach grumbled, "Dang it, I forgot to bring something to eat."
His descendant reached for an apple that was on top of a barrel and tossed it to him.
He nearly hot-potatoed it out of his grasp, "Y-you—we can just take these?!"
Link rested his head in his hand, "Yeah, there are plenty of apples to go around. Plus, they know me here," he winked.
Young Link moved his legs for a nosy chicken to come through, "Oh okay, I just didn't want to try my luck, but if you say it's fine, I might take a couple for the road tonight."
The knight slowly blinked, "I'm not done thinking about that yet. The issue is that we won't be past the fort by the time it gets dark. Plus carrying a torch, which is a requirement in order to see out in these parts, would make us an easy target."
This still perplexed him, "Is there anything I can do to change your mind? Think about it: you could sleep in your bed for free instead of paying forty rupees for both of us to stay here. I'm sure your horse would like being back too."
"Wow, you even threw the horse into this."
He facepalmed, grumbling, "Y'know, you and Zelda kill me with this whole 'I'm-in-charge-because-otherwise-you-don't-know-what-you're-doing-crap.' It's getting really annoying." The young hero spied Link's eyebrows raising between his fingers, "I know I can't come out here and do whatever I please, but—" He puffed out a sigh, "Y'know what, forget it. I shouldn't be complaining. This is all I could have asked for in plenty of ways. Sorry." He got up and left to go to the back of the stables.
To his surprise there was a dog who happily greeted him. It had a tricolored coat and vigorously wagged its tail.
"Oh hi there, buddy." He rubbed its face and head, a small smile appearing.
It woofed and jumped up to lick him.
"If only I had one of my masks, I could tell what you're thinking." Young Link scratched his ears, "Is there anything you wanna show me, bud? I bet I could wander just a little, not too far though."
He didn't think it was possible, but the dog wagged its tail even harder, turning in an excited circle before heading around the stable to the patch of water where an odd building of some sort stood. 'Huh, well the dog doesn't exactly seem to be showing me that, though I get the feeling that these are like some kind of puzzle. They're just not one I'm meant to solve.' It continued around to the back, standing where the water just began to get deeper than the length of its legs.
The young hero could vaguely see the outline of a decently sized chest just beyond the ever-waving surface of the water caused by the small waterfall that came from the cliff above. He caught the dog's eye, it appeared to be smiling, "You're one smart pup for sure. Though I feel like I owe you something now."
It lapped at the water and whined in the direction of the chest, it's wet tail beginning to wag again.
Young Link shook his head with a grin, starting to wade farther into the water, "This is certainly a first. Never thought I'd meet an animal that wanted to see what was inside a chest, but here we are." He knew that Link had an eye on him, there was no way he didn't see him following the dog. The water got to about his belly button, it would certainly be a challenge to lift it, but not impossible.
Once he had a grip on either handle, he got into a squatting position that put the water at his neck and pulled with all of his strength, managing to lift it free from the rocks it was bound by. 'Holy crap this is heavy!' He quickly waddled and sloshed it over to where the dog stood. It began to excitedly wag its tail and bark. "Okay okay! Just give me a second." Luckily there wasn't a lock, so without a moment to spare, he flipped it open and pulled his reward out.
"Da na na na!~" He sang, it was an opal! A valuable ore that gives off a mesmerizing iridescence similar to the inside of a seashell. "Thanks buddy!" He scratched its head, it woofing in response and looking pleased to see what it led him to. With that, it turned and went back toward the stables. "Just like that huh? I guess I can't complain, maybe I'll give it to Link."
The young hero jogged over to his descendant, water slinging off the skirt of his tunic with each step, "Link! Look at what the dog showed me! It's a pretty good size too!"
He chuckled, looking impressed, "Yeah I saw! I hardly could believe you got him to show you where a chest was."
"I bet if you give it to the stable people, they'll let you sleep here for free the next month."
"You really don't like spending money, do you?"
"Damn right! I was going to give it to you anyways since there's no way they'll think a kid found it. You can keep the money from it, though."
There was a part of that statement that appeared to touch him, "Well thanks. Also, I think we should set off soon."
"Really?" He noticed there was a torch leaned against his leg, "I thought you were pretty bent on staying here."
Link scratched the back of his head, "I really was, but then while you were gone, I realized that it's about four thirty in the afternoon and I don't have the patience to wait all day and all night." He referenced to their surroundings, "There's um, nothing to do around here to pass the time."
He could tell that the knight wanted to be more mature than this, hence the disappointment he had for himself in his eyes. 'I get it, he's trying to keep his word like an older brother would. Too bad I'm like his ancient elder . If only he knew.' He pat his shoulder with a respectful grin, one that didn't portray he was quite happy to hear his change of heart, "I feel that, kind of with my soul. I know what it's like to wait all day to do something." In fact, it reminded him of when he'd listen to the old woman in Clock Town tell her long stories back in Termina. He would fall asleep on purpose. "Well, I'm ready when you are."
"Let's get a move on then."
They untied their horses and cut off the path to head straight east through the neighboring patch of open field. They passed by a few keeps that held mainly supplies and weapons before they came to a large stone wall that prevented them from traveling any further. It had a large sliding gate in the center.
"Sorry about that!" Came a yell from the other side, "Just give us ten or so minutes!"
The two of them looked to each other with confused expressions. "Some trouble getting it open?" Young Link asked.
"That would be a first to my knowledge, normally the gate is open, even when it arguably shouldn't be."
Their talking drew one of the soldiers to the gate, his eyes growing big when they met Link, "Guys! Link is back!" A bout of excited murmurs came in response, "Screw the ten minutes, open the gate now!"
Within the next few minutes, the gate slid up to where they could pass through, the two of them getting a warm welcome from the garrison. "It's great to have you back!"
"I knew you'd catch a break at one point!" One commented.
"Who's the kid you brought with ya?" Another asked.
"He almost looks like his brother." A younger guard muttered.
Link nodded in his direction, "This is also Link, but officially it's Young Link. I thought I'd show him my hometown."
He shortly waved with a small smile. "How long is it from the village?"
"Another few hours, just stay on the beaten path and you'll get there, but Link already knows that," an older guard answered, "Just be wary since it should be getting dark soon." The rest of them said their goodbyes and went back to their duties.
Shortly past the small forest around the wall there was a ginormous, beautiful rock formation. It had thick arches that connected into a plateau at the top and was fairly hollow underneath where the river flowed. A small gravel bank accompanied the stream.
"Link oh my Gods," The Hero of Time's mouth was agape, "That's amazing!" It was without a doubt that his descendant had seen this landscape nearly his entire life, but even his eyes showed a wink of wonder as he took in the fresh surroundings.
As they continued, it quickly started to get dark. The sun was already going down when they were at the gate, so it wasn't too surprising. Once they kept to the left after passing by a horseback training area, the knight had lit his torch. Without it, it was literally impossible to see their surroundings. "Make sure you stay close to me." He instructed.
Young Link nodded, attempting to ride as close to him as possible. Luckily nothing but a few keese tried to bother them on their way to the village. It was nearly eight o'clock when they got off their horses and Link led them up the path and over a hill to his humble abode across a small wooden bridge.
"Home sweet home," he said with a grin.
"It looks really nice!" The young hero complimented.
His house looked very cozy. It appeared to be made from a hardened clay that was painted a cream color, and had a red shingled roof with a long chimney that smoke puffed out of. To the left of the house was a small coop where a couple of hens rested, and to the right were a couple of makeshift stalls for horses. A large, dappled gray horse whinnied out to them, Twilight whinnying back in response and trotting over to it. Grace doubtingly followed.
Shortly following their leave, the door swung open, and Link was ambushed with a bear hug from his father. "Ahh! My son!" He said as he gave him a big squeeze, picking him up a few inches off the ground. His father was muscly man who looked to be in his mid-forties. He had a scruffy beard with graying hair on his head, and his voice was gruff with age, but he had very caring eyes. This was a man that loved his community and family to no end, and it showed.
"Dad!" Came Link's strained voice, "You're squeezing the life out of me!"
He set him back down, his tone being playfully sad, "Your old man misses you. Besides, with all the dangerous things they put you up to, I've gotta hug you like it'll be the last time."
His son waved off his words, "Trust me, I haven't made a dumb decision yet. I'll always come back eventually."
Despite the joking nature, Young Link could sense the solemn truth in the father's words. 'I can only imagine the pride of having an excellent swordsman for a son but also the worry that comes with knowing that they always make him do things that are risky and life-threatening.' His voice took him from his thoughts.
"Now who's this young man here? Did I forget I had another son all these years? Coulda sworn I hadn't lost any of them." He joked with a laugh.
"His name is actually Link too, believe it or not. He's been stuck at the castle for a while like me, so I thought I'd show him around. He's the one we found in the forest so long ago," Link explained.
"Ah, that's right," His dad hoisted him up with an arm, " You're the feisty knucklehead he wrote home about, saying that you shared a name and that you speak the old tongue."
The young hero didn't expect to get picked up, "Y-yep, that's me!" He couldn't help but smile. 'I didn't know Link wrote about me. I wonder if he's said anything else?'
"Uh huh, I've heard some things about you." He coddled, proudly nodding his head, "You're pretty damn tough for being a little guy and I can respect that." He set him back down, "In fact you remind me of my young'n here when he was about your age, only not nearly as fiery, but just as determined."
Link started pushing him back toward the house, "Okay okay, that's enough. I say we eat something."
He looked back as he continued to the door, "Well you're back in time, I just got finished making some bread to go with the stew tonight."
"Yes!"
The interior of the house was just as cozy as the exterior. It had a kitchenette with counters and a few cabinets. The cooking utensils such as pots and pans hung from a rack. In the center sat a large table that could easily sit six people. There were four chairs present with the other two being stacked on top of each other at the end of the counter in case they were needed. Flowers from outside sat in a dainty vase at the middle along with a container for the salt. Behind that were a few bookcases, a small fireplace, a couch, and an armchair the father clearly claimed as his own. Beside that was a door to a bedroom, presumably Link's. To the immediate right of the entrance was a small staircase that led to an open bedroom that was the father's. Underneath the stairs was a place to store crates for additional storage and a place to hang fish.
He took a seat at the table, his descendant getting out the plates and silverware as the dad started to put the food down. Young Link was happy to find that they wasted no time getting to the actual act of eating. The meal was simple, but very tasty. "This is a good stew recipe," he said between spoonfuls of it.
"Aw that's kind of ya. It came from this one's beautiful mother," he said with a big grin. Link smiled at the mention of her.
"Hm," 'Now that I'm seeing them sitting down, Link's dad is actually kinda tall.' "How did you end up kind of short, Link?" the young hero asked. 'I mean, I'd be taller than him if I looked my age and I feel like that says something.'
His dad laughed, patting his shocked son's shoulder, "Why, he takes after his momma in that regard, but he also got her ability to cook. He takes his brawn after me and his looks after her. Though I'm surprised he hasn't brought a pretty little thing home with him yet."
The knight shook his head, swallowing his food, "You both kill me. Plus, you already know I don't have time for that, Dad."
"Hey now, how do you think I ended up having you? I made time, kiddo!" He laughed some more, "Often in a barn! Haha!"
The Hero of Time nearly spit out his food at that last remark. Link's ears were bright red as he continued to shake his head. 'Okay, I'll try to save him.' He pointed to the bed that was nearly out of view on the second floor, "Whose bed is that? If you don't mind me asking."
His descendant appeared to catch on, quickly responding, "Oh, that's his room. Mine is right beneath it."
The father nodded, stalling his laughter only for a moment, "Correct! You can imagine why he never got a sibling!"
Even that made the young hero laugh, 'Dammit this man is clever! I'm surprised he has the gall to talk this way around a new guest, though!'
"Dear Hylia, Dad!" His eyes were wide he was gesturing to Young Link.
"Oh my bad," he chuckled, his big hand nearly covering his whole head when he pat it, "How old are you again?"
"I'm ten going on eleven." 'I can only imagine how this conversation would go if I looked as old as I am!'
He stroked his beard with an intentionally stupid grin, "Hm, a smart lad we've got here then." The two of them giggled some more before returning to eating.
Once they were done, Young Link made sure to help wash things and put them away. It was certainly too late to do anything outside so everyone retired to their rooms. But before that, he accompanied Link to get their things from their horses and then followed him into his room, "Hm, not a bad room. I like it."
"Thanks, I can tell he's been dusting in here occasionally. But yeah, has about everything you need." He gestured to each object, "A wardrobe, simple desk and chair, a decent bed, and pictures of course." There were quite a few on the wall along with there being a couple on the desk. "I could tell you about them sometime if you want."
He yawned, "Yeah sure, but definitely some other time. Where can I put my stuff?"
"Oh, you can pick a drawer from the wardrobe. I'm not here often enough for all of them to get used."
Young Link shrugged and picked the second one from the bottom. 'Hm, but I want to be able to see my mask,' he thought once he put the clothes away. He looked to the desk, 'I'd have to jump to reach it on the wardrobe, so the desk is clearly the better option.' He sat it near the edge.
"I'm surprised you brought that with you," His descendant commented. He was propping his head on a hand.
"What can I say? It's really important, even though I never use it." He got changed and started to climb into bed when he caught himself, "Wait what am I doing?"
Link shrugged, he was midway between having his head on the pillow and it still being on his hand.
"Ah, that's right." A semi-annoyed look of realization took over, "You're a damn cuddler." He stood normally, "I'm not gonna share a bed with you."
"Huh?" The knight was confounded, "Well you're not going to sleep on the floor, are you?"
His eyebrow raised, 'You're oddly concerned about this.' "You have a couch out there. Looks comfy enough for me." He smirked, crossing his arms, "Funny you're not defending yourself either."
"Because you're the one acting this way. Besides, I'm used to having to share with my teammates," He explained, "Plus, Dad is gonna get onto me if he finds you sleeping out there. I'm a 'better house guest than that' and what not."
"Really? At seventeen?"
"Unless you want to thoroughly explain to him why." He sighed, "And I'm not going to do that this time. Sometimes I just do that in my sleep and I'm not aware that I've done it until I wake up."
The young hero slightly nodded his head, "Heh, I guess that's fair."
"Hey, you're not great to sleep with either," Link quickly added, "I might be a heavy sleeper, but talking instantly wakes me, and you talk a lot."
"Seriously? That was just one time because of a nightmare."
He sat up, "No, it was before that too: when we were finding the champions, and even when we were at the East Post. Roe said he kicked you off to get you to stop."
Young Link frowned at learning this new information, "What!? " 'That skinny bastard!' "What was I saying?"
"None of us know. You only speak Old Hylian in your sleep." He shrugged, "Honestly, if I could tell that what you were saying was nonsense, I'd probably be able to go back to sleep easier. But no, it sounds really eerie, like spells from fairytales."
"Well geez, that would have been nice to know this whole time!"
Link put his hands up, "Hey don't shoot the messenger. If anything, for your sake—as much as I don't understand it—you're lucky you ended up only doing it around me. If you happened to take a nap by Zelda's tutor, I bet we'd all know a bit more about you by now."
The Hero of Time's eyes narrowed at the words that left his descendant's mouth, his hands slowly going to his hips.
A moment of silence passed between them.
"Scoot over," He muttered.
"W-what?"
"Scoot over! " He quickly motioned for him to move, the knight obliging with a small laugh.
"Changed your mind quick enough."
"Just be quiet and turn the other way," He commanded with a sigh, "I'm annoyed enough to learn that Roe kicked me off! I thought I just rolled off myself!"
"Well, know that I told him he shouldn't have done that. I'm not sure why he would openly tell me that in the first place considering I was far from impressed. Then he wasn't happy with my reaction. Weird."
"I always kind of felt like he was an asshole, so I'm not surprised." 'At least I won't have to be around him.'
"Okay, well…I wouldn't go that far. I'm not sure why the idea would cross him to begin with. At least you weren't hurt."
"Hm, I guess." Young Link yawned again, "Well I'm gonna go to sleep, so goodnight."
"Night."
The next morning, Young Link sat up and felt Link's arm fall off him, "Uuuughh, Liiiink," He groaned, seeing he was still asleep, "You're lucky you're my descendant ," He muttered in Old Hylian, now watching an eye flick open.
Soon the knight was up rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His voice matched the grogginess he felt, "Oh…you're awake? I was about to say, that was the first time you didn't talk in your sleep."
"Huh, weird I guess." The coincidence sparked his curiosity, 'Interesting, you only woke up when I spoke in the old language. I wonder if that's connected to anything…' More importantly, to the young hero's relief, the mask was still there. He hopped down and took it, starting to get dressed. "Wow, it's…actually really chilly here!" For the first time since he received clothing from the academy, he was wearing the pants and having the sleeves down to full length.
"You're right, now that you mention it," Link agreed, putting on his clothes as well.
The young hero looked over at him once he had his sword and shield equipped and had his mask at his waist. He audibly gasped.
His descendant turned to look at him, "Is something wrong?"
He quickly shook his head, "No, I'm fine. I've just never seen you wear something that's not your armor or like a tunic."
Link wore a pale, cerulean blue, long-sleeved shirt, khaki-colored pants, and the same boots he wore with everything. His accessories were a triangle-shaped pendant, and a green, decorative wrap that had dark purple edges and sat at the middle of his waist. It was held in place by a secure belt. "Oh yeah. Well, these are just the clothes we wear here. Kinda like how what you wore in the desert is the way the Gerudo dress. It suits the weather too." He did a short turn around to show all of it, "Do I look nice?"
Young Link was largely indifferent to clothes unless they were striking enough to get a reaction out of him, "Sure. I wonder what's for breakfast." His eyes glimpsed at his expression, "What? I'd tell you if it was ugly. Let's go eat."
His dad looked like he woke from hibernation, it was almost a tad scary. Nevertheless, the man was making scrambled eggs and searing the bread from last night into toast. "Mornin' you two. How's it feel to be back home?"
The knight stretched, "Real nice. That bed might be as old as I am, but it beats the cots they have at the castle any day." He sat at the table, "Speaking of which, are you stationed here for the time being? I thought it might have changed at one point."
"That's right! Your old man gets to take care of the village he calls home for the next month or two. I mainly rotate off watches and go check on the fort from time to time." He flipped the bread in the adjacent pan, "You boys have anything planned for today?"
They looked between each other, "Uhh, not yet," Young Link responded, "I was gonna explore the village. I bet Link has a load of people to say hi to, so I'll let him do that. Then maybe he can show me some stuff that I missed."
He nodded, "You're pretty decisive, I like that." Link's father set the food on the table and then took a seat himself, "How long are you guys staying?"
"Well, the commander told me a few days, so I've got today, tomorrow, and then the morning of the day after that before we head back. He said it was really urgent, so I thought I should come back a bit early." He paused for a moment, "And I mean really urgent, like he almost didn't want to tell me I had time off more than he wanted to say it was urgent that I come back."
The young hero's interest was piqued, "Did he say anything else about it? Maybe you're gonna become another one of the King's knights."
"Actually he didn't, but he looked really stressed out," He shrugged and scooped some eggs onto his plate.
His dad stroked his beard, "Hm, well if it doesn't make you any busier, you'll have to write to me what it is." Link nodded.
After they ate, they all split up to do their own things. The young hero decided he'd go shop to shop to see what all was there. The closest to the entrance of the village was the clothing shop, it sells exactly what's in its name. It also sold blankets and things like bedsheets and towels, but those were far and few compared to the clothes and accessories. Upon further inspection of a Hylian set of armor, meaning that it had a few protective pieces that were made from leather, he could tell it was hand-made.
'Makes sense,' he thought as he felt the fabric between his fingers, 'they probably make the fabric here too.' He left before they could hatch the idea that he was looking to steal something. 'I'm not acting suspicious or anything, but you never know when you're an outsider to a village like this.'
Next was a dye shop. A thick, unpleasant aroma filled his nose when he stepped inside. 'Huh, it's exactly what it sounds like. A place to get your clothes dyed a different color.' There were several rows of clothes hanging up to dry with different colors dripping from them. They ranged from things you could wear, to things like towels and pillowcases. 'I-is that someone's underwear!? I—y'know what? That's none of my business.' After looking at the prices, it seemed that blue, purple, and black were the most expensive colors to choose.
"Looking to dye something?" The shop keeper asked. He was preparing another garment for the process and had a slight lisp.
"Oh sorry, I was just looking."
"Fine by me," he replied. He did a doubletake, "Wait, you're new here?"
"Yes? I'm only here for a few days though, why do you ask?"
"We just hardly get newcomers!" He excitedly explained, "You're rather young, no? Are you sure you didn't wander in here to get away from your parents?"
He strained to keep his expression respectful, "Yep, I didn't come here with my parents in the first place. I'm here with a friend."
The shop keeper dunked the garment into a vat, the contents splashing onto the stained ground, "Just making sure! I've had a couple of naughty young'ns come in without their parents' permission. We look out for each other here."
'That's a fancy way of saying you'll snitch on each other, but whatever I guess.' "Well, it was nice looking around, see ya!" He quickly left.
There was a small, open market of goods that were available to whoever walked by. It was stuff like the local crops that were grown and farming products like milk and cheese. Even better, the shop owners didn't appear to heckle anyone into buying their things. He continued past them to the inn at the end of the road. 'Is it even worth checking out? I doubt I'll catch anyone sleeping in there.' His curiosity dragged him inside anyways.
The clerk was an older woman who was, in fact, sleeping herself in the chair at the counter. To the right were several, neatly made beds. Two of them at the end looked to be particularly fluffy. 'Huh, bet those cost extra.' Otherwise, there wasn't much to see except that there was a man who looked to be from the village who was sleeping in one of the beds.
The young hero couldn't help but cock his head at the sight, 'What? If you live here, why would you be sleeping in an inn?'
Within the next moment, an angry woman burst in, instantly waking the clerk, "Wesston! You lying dog!"
At the sound of her voice, he immediately sat up. He sounded apologetic despite being groggy, "Honey!" He winced, "Did you need something?"
Young Link backed away towards the wall, 'Uh oh…' This was not the first time he found himself in the middle of a relationship problem.
"You know exactly what you did!" She yelled, furious. She stomped over to his bedside and grabbed his ear, "You are coming home with me this instant!"
He really tried to look away from the woman dragging her spouse by the ear, but his whiny cries kept calling his eyes back to the spectacle.
Before she could fully get him out the door, the clerk briefly stopped her, "Would you like to add this to your tab ma'am?"
Almost as if it were a switch, her face suddenly changed into being kind and polite, her voice was gentler as well, "Oh, yes please. Thank you." Her barking continued after the door shut behind her.
His eyes widened, "Wait what?" He whispered, putting a hand over his mouth, "She's paying for him to stay here?!"
"Hey." The clerk's annoyed tone grabbed his attention.
"Y-yes, sorry?"
"If you're not gonna buy my services, quit standing around and being nosy! Shoo!"
The Hero of Time shamelessly obliged, 'I mean,' he looked around for somewhere else to go, 'she's not wrong. I could have left earlier if I wanted to.' He giggled to himself.
The road continued past the village and looked to go up a hill. At the top seemed to be another Sheikah-related facility, which was interesting considering he didn't see anyone with white hair nor their mode of dress in town. 'Maybe they all just kinda stay up there, you can probably see a lot of the land. That, and it looks really small compared to the research lab near the castle. Sort of like it's for self-funded projects that are for funsies kind of thing.' He sighed, finding a spot to sit up against a tree, 'More like I simply don't have to worry about running into any of them. It's been forever since I've seen Impa, so I have zero idea of how the clan thinks of me. That champion stuff was weeks ago, and I've only been doing good things since then.'
"Hey mister, you're not from here are you?" Came a girl's voice.
'Dear Goddesses, give me the strength to deal with children…' He looked up and felt relieved to only see three of them standing in front of him. The girl seemed to be about his age and was holding what he presumed to be her little brother's hand. The other was a boy that was a year older than him, but, based on the polite eyes and soft composure, he looked to be there out of interest more than anything else, "That's right," he replied with a small smile, trying to be friendly, "I'm here with someone for a few days."
"Who is it?" Asked her little brother.
He gestured to the two older ones, "Surely you've heard of him. I came here with Link."
Their mouths dropped open, "No way! Really?" Came the older boy.
"Wait, who is that?" The little one asked again.
"It's Link! Remember him from mom's stories?" She explained, "He's the one that got rid of all those keese from dad's basement that one time!"
The older boy's eyes lit up, "Oh, and when saved me from getting lost in the woods too!"
"Nahh, the road was right there! You were just being a baby!" She teased with a grin.
"Am not!"
"Were too!"
"Am—"
"Okay okay, he helped you in the woods, cool." He interrupted, 'I'm not letting this devolve into nonsense.' "Did you guys just want to say hi or something?"
They snickered amongst themselves, "Well no, that's not all we wanted to do." She pointed to the sword on his back, "We were wondering if you'd come with us to go look at the forbidden statue." Her sibling clutched to her side at the mention of it.
His curiosity was piqued, "Forbidden? Why?"
"That's exactly why we want to go look!" The boy explained, "Our parents won't tell us!"
"Is it nearby?"
"Well c'mon, we'll show you!" The girl led the way back through the village toward the entrance. She started to go up the path that led to Link's house, but instead of continuing left, she veered off to the right where the path was now in between two steep hills.
The further they kept going, the more his left hand started to prick, and a tight feeling began to appear in his chest. 'Just what is this statue? Some kind of monster in disguise?' When they rounded the corner, a stout, dark colored statue with outspread wings and a devilish set of horns sat hunched over. A significant amount of bird poop also manifested the statue's back and head.
As the older two oohed and ahhed, the younger brother began to sniffle in fear at the sight of it. "Sissy I wanna go home!" He pleaded.
But she was entranced by the statue, "Whoa…" she blinked, "I still don't understand why it's forbidden, though." Her friend nodded.
Young Link had no clue why, but his breath started to feel thin and his hand began to clutch his chest, "I think I'm starting to get the feeling why, you guys need to go home. I mean it," He huffed.
Seeing him start to stumble snapped them out of their gaze and sent them back the way they came.
"Now," he addressed the statue in his old tongue, "What are you? "
It emitted a thick, purple fog around its base as it began to talk in a raspy, deep voice, "Well well, who would have thought I'd run into one with whom I can more easily talk to? " It laughed, "And one with the triforce of courage no less! " The warped giggling ceased, "But I digress. I'm simply none of your concern, hero. Nearly none can hear me, and I am but neglected in this cursed town."
"'None of my concern?' Then explain why you're trying to rip my soul out, demon," He unsheathed his sword.
The horned statue burst into another fit of laughter, "BAHAHAHAAA…ohh, but you're wrong! See, I only want a teeny piece of it. Perhaps you would like to exchange it for speed, strength even…at a price of course."
"Right. You take parts of my soul for free and then make me pay for it back? That's a load of bullshit and you know that." Despite now talking to the statue, the tightness in his chest hadn't decreased in the slightest. The thin air was getting troublesome too. If this went on for much longer, he'd pass out from not getting enough oxygen.
It started to tremble in anger, "You and their damned Goddess Hylia! She disliked this little deal I have going, so she sealed me in this statue. If only she knew I'd never learn…no matter how the bird droppings fester along my head and back." It chuckled, "You're lucky, hero."
His chest now became unbearably tight, enough to make him want to groan. His left hand was on fire. It burned hot enough to make his hand vaguely tremble, but he stood his ground.
"That little gimmick the triforce has going for you is keeping you from my tricks…" Its face lunged forward, hissing in a sudden fit of rage, "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! "
The Hero of Time wore a look of disgust as he forced himself to trudge away, the feeling starting to ebb off the farther he got—however, that was only the case for his chest. His hand, even after shakily putting away the sword, still felt like it was searing. He jogged to the house and shut himself in the knight's room, ripping the glove off his hand and gripping it with the other. His lingering lightheadedness wasn't helping either.
He groaned as he hunched forward, squinting his eyes, "Gods what is it? " Now he was practically on the floor and leaning against the side of the bed. His hand continued to radiate light, "Whaaat!? Please just stop! We're fine now! " Young Link's head was fogging up and getting heavier by the moment. The flow of time felt nonexistent in this state of limbo.
"Are you okay?"
His eyes abruptly opened at the sound of his descendant's voice, making him slowly turn his head to face him.
Link's gaze flicked between him and his hand. The way his eyebrows were angled conveyed that he was significantly worried.
"Ye —I mean—yes," he breathily mumbled, "my hand…my head..that horned statue…talking…"
He was quickly at his side at the mention of it, "Why were you there!?"
"The children..led me…there," His thoughts became less jumbled, and he could feel his hand start to whittle down to simply being pins and needles—still very annoying, but way less painful. "Don't worry about it, I—" He sighed, properly sitting up, "I'm feeling better now." He let his head lean back onto the bed.
His descendant wasn't convinced, "No, you don't understand, the last person that could hear the statue died!"
Young Link's hand now dimly glowed as he took Link's, mainly to play around with it. He nodded, "I believe it. It tried so hard to pull my soul from my body, I could have yelled in pain. It wasn't agonizing, but with my head feeling funny and it having such a nasty voice…I don't know how no one has torn it down or destroyed it." He explained how it made deals to people and how Hylia apparently sealed him away for doing so.
The knight heavily sighed, bringing his free hand up to his temple, "So then what did I walk in on just now? What was happening to you?"
He guessed, "Maybe it's just the aftereffects of interacting with it? From what I could tell, it will try to take a part of your soul just by walking near it as a means to make you bargain with it. However, handy dandy triforce here wasn't letting it, so I was feeling like crap in the process. I'm not sure why it continued to burn like it did after I left, though." A thought came to mind, "Maybe it was to serve as a reminder to never go back, because I was honestly about to start begging to it if you hadn't come in."
"Is that why you were speaking the Old Hylian?"
"Yeah, that's how I was talking to the statue. Figured if my Gods were the ones making this happen, I ought to speak in a language they can understand." He found a tiny sunspot on one of his knuckles, "Oh look."
Link took his hand back, shaking his head, "You had…well… whatever that was happen to you and yet you find the capacity to mess with my hand?"
He shrugged, "I dunno how it's still a surprise to you that I quickly move on from things. That's all I can do in the grand scheme." 'Not to mention, how dull life would be if I didn't take advantage of all the buttons I know I can push, heheh!'
The knight helped him to his feet and handed him the glove he'd taken off, "Well, in the meantime, I'm ready for a sandwich. You want one?"
"I want two, please and thanks." He put the fingerless glove back on as they went out to the dining room, taking a seat while his descendant started making the food. "Well, aside from that happening, I went into some of the shops and found out that the dying guy is a snitch and that a wife is paying for her husband to sleep at the inn after he…I dunno, after he cheats on her I guess." He watched him do a double take.
"Alrighty then! You've certainly seen a side of the village I didn't expect you to see."
"Well how about you then? I promise I'm not trying to gossip, I'm just being honest."
Link had taken a butter knife out of the drawer, "I believe you. If you were Anthony, I wouldn't give you the time of day to explain yourself." He looked back, "He's a good guy, but for having such an important duty, he gets caught up in worrying about things he doesn't need to worry about. That, and gossiping too. Anyway," he continued to spread a paste over the bread, "I simply went around and sort of showed my face if that makes sense."
"Link, my soul completely understands far more than I can explain. Continue."
"I had a couple of nice conversations with some of the people that watched me grow up here, but otherwise it was overall uneventful. I think the only thing I accomplished was coming up with what we're going to eat tomorrow for dinner. Then I saw you run to the house and wondered if something was wrong."
The young hero smirked, "I'd call you a glutton if I wasn't the same way. But really, who knew that there's legit an evil, soul-sapping statue right inside the village? Seriously, why hasn't it been taken down?"
The knight sat a sandwich and a half down in front of him, the other half being on his plate, "You realize you're the only one who's heard the statue and lived right? Most people tell their kids to stay away from it and the majority of people can't hear it to begin with, making its weird bargaining not possible." He took a bite of his food, a satisfied glint appearing in his eyes, "I wish I remembered it sooner so that this wouldn't have happened."
"Well can you hear the statue?" He asked, curious. 'I mean, I know I told you about it, but you also sound like you've heard it too.'
He eyed him, "I'm not about to go try, especially after what I came in to. You looked like a mess."
'Ooooh, this is a really good sandwich. Wonder if I could trade off for this ability when he gets the triforce…if that's a thing.' "Fair, but they say that the hands are the most sensitive thing on the body, so you can only imagine how bad my dumb hand hurt!"
"That's about the palms of your hands, not the backs of them. Does it actually hurt when it shines like that?"
"Well," He thought back to previous times, "Definitely not always. I've noticed that since I've started wearing these gloves, it seems like I feel it prick at me more than when I wasn't, like it's making up for the fact that I can't see it with a feeling. The brighter it glows, the more it burns or stings. It felt like I was sticking my hand into molten lava when I was talking to that statue because of how hard it had to work to keep it from taking my dumb soul." Link looked mildly concerned at this new information, "Okay well, just know that other times, it's hot in an itchy way, where I can only make it go away by grabbing my sword or something. Like it's..uh…it's—dammit I don't know enough words to properly describe it, but you feel like you can nearly take on anything and it's time to put your heart and soul into taking out whatever it is." He paused, "Within reason of course."
The knight had finished the first half of his sandwich and continued onto the second, "Interesting. I guess I almost feel bad for you in that case."
"It's a helpful kind of annoying. Though sometimes it really goes on a spree of letting me know exactly how it feels." They ate in silence for a bit before Link's dad came through the door.
"My my, if it isn't my little boy and his friend." He tenderly pat his son's head, "I came by to get some lunch too. My belly's all grumpy from telling them knuckleheads down at the fort about all their damn chores they decided not to do." He looked over at the stove and put a hand over his mouth, "You..you made your dad a couple too?"
Link smiled, "Of course. I had a feeling you'd be back within the hour."
He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, sniffing, "Dammit, I really did go right somewhere with raising you." He nudged him as he sat down, "Haha, I kid, I kid." Now his gaze went to the young hero, "Well then! Whatcha think of the village?"
"I'm impressed by how many things are hand-made here. Not to mention all the goods like the goat cheese and milk that come from the people too." He acted like he couldn't see the knight's semi-shocked expression out of the corner of his eye. "I'm definitely pretty tired though. I think I'll take a nap or something. Weird how they didn't do their chores at the wall, are they really that bad?"
"Not at all, specifically because there are so many of them there. It's just little things like sweeping and keeping the incoming crates organized and such." He leaned in, "See, I don't mean to jinx nothin', but not a lot happens here, so quite a few of the new graduates get sent here so they can get a sense of what fort-life is like. These are baby assignments compared to what they'll do on the Plateau or East Post. I think they get bored and then further don't feel like doing their chores."
The knight scratched the back of his head, "I'd offer to help if I wasn't on break."
"Aww, well I wouldn't let ya anyways, kiddo. I appreciate the thought, though."
'It's certainly different to hear 'kiddo' get used on Link for once,' He felt himself smile, 'I'm glad he has such a caring dad and, at one point, a mom he can remember. Makes me wonder what mine was like. Obviously, she was caring enough to bring me to the Deku Tree…but what things did she like? What was she good at? Was my dad a great swordsman too? Who was he?' He squinted as a question came to mind. He looked to the father, "I remember Link telling me one time that you said that Hylians with longer ears come from some old lineage. Is that really true?"
He scratched his beard, "Well I'd be lying if I didn't notice it when I met ya last night. It's something my grandpa used to tell me when I was growing up. He said there were very few of them left in the world, and by 'few' he meant two people he swore he saw when he wasn't wearing his glasses, so y'know, there's really not much to speculate about. However, you are quite a curious case with them ears of yours, in my opinion."
"Hm, well I guess I have a better understanding of why Zelda bothered to pull out her family tree and try to see if there was some way I was connected to it." He was slightly startled by the flabbergasted expressions the other two wore, but he continued, "Both of my parents have been dead since I was a baby, but I would know if I came from royalty. She mainly thought it was possible because in the past there wasn't only one daughter that was born to seal Ganon away. A few generations ago there were even sons who were swordsmen and several daughters that were born at one time. Though, one of the daughters was always the sole successor, so they kept whatever tradition that was. Either way, it was a very interesting thought she had, even though there's no way that it could be true."
The dad looked between him and Link, "You're friends with the Princess!? Why that's a first! I would have never expected it!"
"Right, well when she and Link found me, she kinda just helped me out occasionally and somewhere along the way she became someone I could go to if I needed something. She's very nice, if you didn't know. However, for example, this still isn't my native tongue, so sometimes when she's telling me about her research, I have to stand and nod because she'll start using words that I really don't know," He chuckled.
"Well you've got yourself a very high standing confidant, if you ask me."
"That's not why you had a rough morning, though, right?" Link asked.
"Huh? Oh not at all, she actually helped me feel a bit better. Did I ever tell you about the Book of Legends?"
"I vaguely remember seeing it on your bed one time, but no."
"Well I was reading it and it turns out that there's a story missing. Anyways, I asked Zelda to look into it when she had time, and we ended up going to the historian to figure out what happened to it. It was a rough morning for me, because we learned that no one else but the Yiga would do something like that, which, if I'm honest, I suspected from the beginning. Though, the historian couldn't figure out why considering they're all legends for a reason. Hardly anything from the stories exists now except the Master Sword." He paused, "Oh, and I completely packed for the trip, but then I remembered that all of it needed to be put in saddle bags, so that was a bit of a bummer too."
The dad stood from finishing his food, "To me that sounds like the Yiga are trying to rub in our face how sneaky they've managed to be. A show of prowess if you will."
His descendant nodded, "I agree, it's really odd that they would steal a story of all things. I mean, it's technically history, but it happened so long ago that it's insignificant in these times."
Telling them about it made him think, 'Dear Goddesses, I hope they don't start showing up and addressing me as the Hero of Time. That would be pretty awkward, especially if I've got the mask with me.'
"Well, the old man needs to get back to work, I'll see you guys tonight," He waved before he left.
Young Link looked to the knight, "I'm still decently sapped from that evil statue, so I'm looking forward to a nap If you don't mind." He set his plate on the counter, "Also you really are a good cook, dammit. A simple sandwich shouldn't taste that good," he praised.
He appreciated the compliment, "I'm glad you liked it. Also, that's fine by me, I was going to read."
"Read what? If you don't mind me asking."
He shrugged, "Not sure, I just wondered if I had any decent books left here."
"Despite what you said before about words and numbers, I still never exactly took you for a reader if I'm honest. Are they adventure-type stories or stuff like sword combat volume sixteen, eldest master edition?"
That earned a chuckle out of him, "Okay well they're certainly not about fighting, and trust me, I've actually tried. They're some of the most boring texts to have ever existed. I tend to read stuff that's sort of like facts about the world, along with the occasional wives' tale for memory's sake."
Young Link walked toward his room, "Interesting, maybe you could read me one some time, especially if it's one that has a prophecy in it. Bit of a sucker for those, I'll admit."
"Hm, can't say I know one like that off the top of my head, but I'll let you know if I find one. Enjoy your nap."
He slid off his equipment and did an aerial into his bed, happily landing on the mattress, "Ahhh, will do." He kept the Fierce Deity's mask close as his eyes closed.
His dream was disturbing to say the least. He found himself back in the horrid statue's gaze, his soul leaving him weaker and weaker as the demon found pleasure in ripping it from him piece by piece with no aid from the triforce. 'No,' he thought as the scene started to repeat itself, 'I'll put this damn statue in its place—' He donned the mask and transformed into a deity by his own right, '—in hell.' With a slash that could crack the land, the statue was obliterated. The demon that was sealed in it howled in anguish as it tried to claw its way skyward, but it was to no avail as it seeped farther into the earth.
He transformed back into his normal self, putting the mask back at his waist and thinking his headspace was clear of further disturbances. Oh, he was wrong. The next thought found him bound, gagged, and beaten in the pit of a Yiga hideout he had the misfortune of imagining. As an aching sensation consumed his body, there was sweat rolling down his forehead. The dust from the ground clung to him as if he were previously kicked around in it, 'At least that explains why I feel like shit…' The stronger warriors were taunting him by carelessly tossing his mask around, that is, before someone that looked even stronger took hold of it.
He kept his expression straight, surely his own mask couldn't hurt him, right? It literally looked like him. What would they transform into?
At the command of a leader that was out of sight, the warrior put on the mask and snarled as it turned him into…well it was indescribable. Only a dark fog emanated from where he stood, his glowing red eyes permeating through it. However, the danger he presented to the entire room made the atmosphere more daunting than it already was.
There was hardly anything he could do in this state. 'I have no idea what's going to happen, but it's somehow going to be worse than this already is,' His dream-self thought, trying to move to where he could at least get off his side or sit up. The closer the fog got to him, the more he tried to brace himself for what came next, 'It's been worse...' He bit his lip as it grew near his feet, 'It's been worse…' Within the next second, the glowing eyes were boring into his, 'Okay this is admittedly pretty rock bottom!' It stared him down for what felt like too long, but his vision went black before anything could happen.
A few moments of complete darkness later, the first sense that came back was sound. People were screaming and yelling, and the pattering of footsteps and horses could be heard from every direction. Next was smell. The sheer moisture in the air told him it had been raining. There's smoke in the air from fires being put out. 'I taste blood in my mouth…maybe I bit my tongue? What am I holding? Wet hair, heavy, round…'
"Link!"
He felt himself getting shaken, his instincts making his hands fly up to the face of the perpetrator to grab it. Soon a voice started to make clearer words.
"I'm here. Calm down, I'm right here."
Young Link shivered awake, Link's face being smushed by his hands quickly coming into view. The knight's breathing made him aware of the single tear that had rolled down his cheek. He sighed in relief, one of his hands reaching for his right ear. His fingers only managed to graze it before the knight pulled away and met him with a stunned gaze.
He looked like he was going to bring that up in a second, only what he had to say right then was what he was most concerned about, "Another nightmare? You were talking in your sleep again, only this time you were calling my name."
"I had a few actually, but the last one was the worst." He wiped his face.
His descendant was sitting beside him, "Gee, sometimes your mind really can't give you a break huh?"
"Guess so," He sat up a bit.
"Well now that that's out of the way, what's with the face grabbing and going after my ear? I know you just woke up, but you're going to explain yourself."
"Well, touching me in my sleep is going to get my hands on you the majority of the time anyway. That, in of itself, is a long story that can be whittled down to: I have trust issues when it comes to sleeping that aren't going to get better any time soon." He sighed, "As for that ear specifically, you didn't have it as you were dying in my arms. I was glad to see it still be a part of your head."
Link's eyes met his, a gentler tone taking over, "I died in your dream?"
He held the gaze, "I tried to do everything in my power to help you, but it was already too late." He sniffed as his bottom lip trembled against his will, "Your eyes…" A sullen glow seeped from his hand as if it felt for him as well, "You weren't even mad or disappointed in me. I had no idea what happened or what caused it." His face felt hot at recounting even the minor details. He waved it away, "I'm done. I don't want to keep talking about it." Young Link shakily sighed, "Hopefully I just never see it again, ever."
The knight scooted in closer, wrapping him into a hug, "I've had a couple of dreams like that before, but I can only imagine how it feels for you."
He wasn't sure if that was in reference to his age or something else. Regardless, he hugged him back, "I'm sorry, but yes, there genuinely isn't a way for you to understand how that would feel for me." 'I know you briefly get on my nerves sometimes, but you're still my descendant . I care about all of you more than you know.' He squeezed him a bit more to get the message across…and as much as he wouldn't want to admit it, there was comfort in being hugged after seeing the things he saw. A couple moments later, he felt a sudden weight sweep across the top of his head.
"Well, the good thing is I don't plan on that happening to me anytime soon."
The young hero smiled at his positivity, a meek laugh getting past his lips, "Dammit…you make me feel like I'm ten years old when you do that." 'Even worse is that it kinda works. It hurts my soul even admitting that to myself.' He brushed his hand off and let go.
"I mean, you say that like you're supposed to be older." There was a peculiar hint to his tone, as if he considered for a moment that it was true. "I suppose you're feeling better now?"
"Yeah, I was until you started petting me." He somewhat intentionally ignored the first phrase about his age, instead bringing his focus to his mask, which was still sitting where he was laying when he got up from the bed.
His smile was shameless, the bastard, "What can I say? You have a short cowlick that refuses to stay down. It's cute."
An electric current raced from his neck to the back of his head at the compliment, "Ugh! Don't say things like that, dammit!"
"Hey well I'm right, aren't I?"
He shook his head, "I think I need some fresh air." Young Link quickly left the room, ignoring his descendant's laughter. Once outside, he realized he hadn't seen what the side of the house looked like. He briefly pet the horses before discovering a small pond that sat near a juvenile tree. It had lovely pink lilies growing near the edge of the pool and a collection of lily pads that sat on the surface of the water near the base of the tree.
'If it were warmer, I'd probably hop in,' but the breeze was cool as the evening set in. Further beyond the pond was a path that looked to lead up the small mountain that was nearby. 'Hmm,' He looked from the path to the stables and fiddled his thumbs. The young hero gave into his sense of adventure, 'It'll be quick I swear!' He jogged back to the horses, apologetically patting Grace before he coaxed Twilight over to the ledge the land created with the house. He ran around the corner to scale it and then maneuvered his way onto her back, grabbing the hair by her withers and sending her off into a trot toward the trail.
'Sorry Grace!' He thought as they began climbing the mountain, 'I needed someone who's probably been up here before to save time!' And Twilight certainly proved it. She took the liberty to canter up any long stretches of path before slowing to make a turn. With that efficiency, it only took about an hour to reach the top, but it felt like it took half that time with the breeze in their hair. Twilight extended her leg forward so it wasn't as far of a way down for him to go.
"Thanks, Twi." Once down, he realized he could see his breath each time he breathed out, and that he had nothing on him to defend himself with. The ride, and the feeling that came with doing something you probably weren't supposed to, had kept him warm up until now. "Dear Goddesses, it's nearly freezing up here!" He quickly scanned the area and took in the surroundings, finding that the pond that took up the majority of the clearing was in the shape of a broken heart. He giggled, "Haha! That's pretty sad. Makes me wonder if there's one that isn't broken."
His fingers were starting to feel numb as he clambered up a rock to look at the surrounding land. He could see a large cliff that preceded the ocean that was nearby. It had one of those weird buildings he saw at the stables near the ledge, and there was another that sat on an island big enough to fit it a decent way out to sea. 'Interesting, seeing these makes me think they definitely have a role of some sort. I'm just not sure what." A gust of cold air sent him back to Twi, him finding her rolling on the ground and getting dust all over herself. "What are you doing!? Now Link is gonna know for sure that we left!"
It's not that the mare didn't understand, she did. She also clearly thought it wasn't her business, as she only stopped once she was up right to motion for him to get on while she was down.
He sighed as he hopped on her dirt-covered back and held on as she stood, "Well, at least you had some fun." They turned to go back the way they came, "I don't know about you, but I'm freezing. Let's get back." The ride down the trail took a little longer due to the wind picking up, however he was surprised to see that Link wasn't down there awaiting his return.
Not wanting to keep anyone waiting, he hopped off before the horse lowered herself, him immediately wincing and sharply inhaling in pain, "Ow..definitely felt that in my ankles, definitely not going to do that again." He looked back at Twi as he made circular motions with each foot, seeing that Grace and now the father's horse were sniffing her, "I'll make sure to get you an apple, okay?" He got a snort in response as he continued toward the door, a relieved sigh leaving him when a rush of warm air came after he opened it.
"Heh! I figured you went up that trail!" Came the dad's voice. He was sitting in his armchair, "Your rosy cheeks say it all! This one here did the same thing, only he was much littler and did it in my sleep!"
"You're not…mad?" He spied Link at the kitchenette, he looked too busy to answer at the moment.
"'Course not! Though he might not like sharing a bed with all that dust you've got on ya. I'm only sorry to say we don't have a bath in the house, and it's far too cold to go skinny dippin' in the pond."
Young Link scratched the back of his head, "Ah, well, it's not like I haven't slept on the floor before."
The knight moved the pot he was using off the fire, "You're not sleeping on the floor. We'll figure something out."
He held out the skirt of his tunic, assessing the amount of dust he collected from Twilight's antics, 'Ummm, you say that now, but that's only because you haven't seen me yet.' "Alright, but uh, just know that I've already accepted my one-night wonder date with the floorboards in case you feel like changing your mind." After watching him shrug, he decided to sit on the rug that was near the fireplace and attempt to read a book while he warmed up.
'A Guide to Hyrule's Botany…not sure what that last word is, but sure, this works.' After turning past the index, he saw hand-drawn pictures of plants take up an entire page, 'So this is about plants…I can feel my interest rapidly disappearing.' He turned another page, seeing a multitude of flower drawings. The pictures were decidedly becoming the reason he kept flicking through the pages.
Stifling a yawn, now he'd come across the portion that talked about trees. He started to roll his eyes at the topic change until one of the pages contained a sketch of an absolutely horrifying looking tree. 'Geez! If that's not the scariest plant I've ever seen I have no idea what is—and I've seen plants with actual teeth! ' He scanned the text on the adjacent page, finding that he genuinely had a hard time reading it. 'So this is where hardly reading in this language has gotten me, eh? Yeah, I kinda deserve this.'
He held up the book for the father to see, getting his attention, "Do you know where you can find trees that look like this?"
The dad faked a shiver going down his spine, "No other place than Lost Woods! They say you can hear a witch's cackle if you go too thick into the fog. Spooky ."
"Is there anything past all the trees and fog?" 'Is there a forest temple here, by chance?'
"If you manage to get past that, you'll see the Great Deku Tree who guards the Master Sword."
Young Link's eyes sparkled at hearing the name of the sword, not to mention the great protector of the forest. He was mystified, "R-really?"
He nodded, "That's right! Speaking of which, I wonder when and who is gonna end up pulling it. If there's a calamity just coasting around the corner, we ought to get whoever that is all trained up so he can take on the damn thing."
The young hero caught his instinct to snap his head to look at the knight midway, quickly diverting his eyes to one of the couch cushions, "Uh, yeah, I agree." 'I don't think I've ever tried so hard not to look at Link in my life.'
Soon the food was done. Tonight, it was a tasty soup that had vegetables and chicken. When Link sat the bowls down, the look in his eyes made it obvious that he wasn't expecting the young hero to be that dirty. He ladled the broth into his bowl, "Dang, did you fall on the way down? How did you get that much dirt on you?"
He briefly paused from blowing on his spoon, "Well when I got to the top, Twi decided it would be the perfect time to roll. Then, when I asked her what she was doing, she acted like nothing happened and wanted me to get on."
His father was impressed, "I'm surprised you managed to get on her, much less ride without a saddle!"
"Same here, it's no wonder it's still clinging to you. One time, back at the academy, we were training on horses in the rain. Well, one of the other students thought it would be funny if they undid the straps on my saddle. Long story short, the horse starts bucking, I nearly fall off, the saddle hits the ground, and the horse gets spooked and starts running with me hanging on. Of course, the mud from the arena had been flicking up onto its legs and back," He laughed, "I don't think I've ever been that dirty, and it was a long practice. My shirt was fortunately saved even though it had some stains, but they actually had to give me a new pair of pants because they couldn't get the mud to come out."
"That's right! I was getting word from the instructors that some of the littler ones kept calling you shit shirt!" He guffawed, "I thought I was gonna have to wring some tiny necks until he told me that you whooped their sorry asses when they tried to come after ya!"
This was certainly a first for the young hero to hear, 'So the respect they all have for him must have come after he graduated huh? Makes sense. I bet the same thing would be happening to me if I were forced to go to the academy. Kids take it pretty personally when someone who is younger than them is better.'
The knight was lightheartedly shaking his head, "Dad, it wasn't like that. All that happened was that we were having a mixed class sparring session, and one of them tried to swing at me on break. I just parried it and kicked the practice sword of their hand."
"Oooh, nice," Young Link smirked. It was always a good feeling to hear what his descendant was capable of. 'Makes me wonder if he could manage to do the same with me. Really, I wonder if there's anything I haven't seen him do…' He felt his mind begin to divulge in past battles.
"Hey now," Came the father's voice after his shoulder was nudged, "I'll eat your soup if you're not careful, kiddo."
He blinked out of his daze, following it with a giggle he couldn't control the pitch of, "Not sure we're related enough to be swapping spit like that," he joked. 'Where the hell did that laugh come from? Stop it.'
Link covered his face while his dad erupted again into laughter, "I dunno what to say anymore with you two."
They finished and cleaned up the meal without any further gaggling breaks. After saying goodnight to the old man, the two of them shivered upon entering the knight's room. "What the—how is it so cold in here!?" While washing their hands after putting everything away, he had gone up to his arms to get some of the dirt off, but now they were freezing!
"Sometimes the heat from the fireplace doesn't reach this room," His head nodded toward the window, "That probably isn't helping either. I'll go get another blanket."
'In that case, I suppose I'll try to get changed while you're gone,' but after removing his belt and pulling off the tunic, the chill of the room quickly raced down his spine, "Gods this is what Snowhead felt like!" He huffed through gritted teeth, quickly reaching for his longer nightclothes, and scrambling to put them on. When Link returned, he nearly pulled him forward when he snatched the fuzzy blanket from him and immediately wrapped himself in it. "Sorry, I'm just small and freezing. I'm gonna share it, I promise."
"No worries, I understand."
Young Link made sure he propped his gear up and sat his mask on the desk like he did the night before. After spreading the blanket on top of the preexisting covers, he was cozying up underneath them faster than one could blink. Between shuddering and bringing all his appendages as close as humanly possible to chest, his eyes grazed over the knight's figure, the image of him from his nightmare flashing before him. It made his hand glisten in the dim room.
This did not go unnoticed, for Link was at first entranced from witnessing it before he was near his side, "What's making it do that now?"
He shook his hand around, the triforce resuming its neutral state, "Ugh, just my mind playing tricks on me again. You were all scratched up from my stupid dream."
"Ah, does your hand normally do that?" He finished putting his arm through the other sleeve of his shirt.
"No, because after I'd nearly been choked to death and woke up the next day from the image of it spooking me, it wasn't shining." He frowned at the context of the triforce's actions, "Seems like some kind of sick joke to me."
Now Link had joined him under the warm blankets, "Well, kinda speaking of which, I was wondering what you'd meant when you said you had trust issues while sleeping. I've seen other knights wake up throughout the night because of it, but you don't seem to do that," He paused, "I guess I'm trying to say it's not obvious."
'Huh, I can't see your eyes all that well in this lighting, go figure. Weird that you'd like to know. Where are you coming from with this?'
The descendant sighed at himself, "Hold on, let me rephrase that. It's not obvious despite you being so young . I've never met someone who has done the things you do, but then have something like that."
He carefully chose his words, "I mean, you say that, but then I grabbed your face as you were shaking me."
"Yeah, but you weren't scratching me or trying to pull my skin off. Also, with that type of thing, you probably would have seen me coming."
'Dammit, what an awfully good point.' "How about this: I can tell who or what it is. So if I know it's you, why would anything you do to me come with dire consequences? It's not as black and white as you might think."
Still teeming with what seemed like too many questions, Link got out of bed, "I have an idea."
Young Link groaned as he missed grabbing his arm to hold him back, "What are you doing? Let's just go to bed."
"You close your eyes and then tell me where I am in the room."
It was impossible to keep his eyes from rolling, "Too easy, your footsteps and breathing would give you away. Get in bed."
"Hey, I'm not that clunky. You said I could be an assassin once."
"Yeah, out in nature that I've never been in before."
He puffed out a short sigh, "Just try it."
"Fine." The Hero of Time did as he was told and closed his eyes, "Since you don't want to give yourself away by talking, I'll just guess every ten or so seconds." He counted to ten in his head, "Nearly at the doorway with your back to me." Another ten, "You're looking at my quiver, standing by the dresser."
'Hm,' he thought between counts, 'I am impressed that I can hardly hear him. Very good on his part.' Keeping his eyes closed, his hand shot out from beneath the covers and lightly grabbed a hold of one of Link's long locks of hair that hung in front of his ears. His vision was met with a sincerely stunned face as he used the end of it to teasingly hit his cheek. Young Link's smile was playful, "Now get under the covers! It's gotten colder since you left!"
"Dang, you really got them all right. How did you know I was there at the end?" He asked, climbing over him.
The young hero squinted his eyes, "I—hmm…I'm not su—?" 'How do you explain something like that? "Oh it's just countless times of getting attacked in your sleep, duh." Pfft, I can't say that!' "I actually don't know how to explain that, sorry. It's just a feeling of sorts."
"…Interesting."
"Well now that you've poked and prodded me, it's your turn." Link started to open his mouth, but he talked over him, "And you're not getting out of it by saying you want to sleep either." There was a mischievous glint in his eye as he turned to face him, "So. What's with being so quiet all the time around the princess? Might I add unusually so."
His expression was nonchalant, "Like you said, it's not black and white. I'm just doing my job, and talking could distract me." He started to turn over, but the young hero held his shoulder in place, preventing him from doing so.
He continued, "Right, well whenever I mentioned that you were leaving to come here, Zelda had a certain look to her, like she had something to say about it."
This sparked his curiosity, "Really? Why?"
"When I asked, she said she didn't know. Just thought I'd mention it." Now it was Link who tried to keep him from facing the other way.
"You're serious?"
"I'm not sure what it means, but who knows. It definitely surprised me." He snapped his jaws together at his hand, "I'll bite you if you don't let go."
The knight's smile was apprehensive, "Don't say that in a way where I can't tell if you're messing around." He let him be and faced the wall.
With them not being as close to each other anymore, Young Link could feel the chill seeping in through the opening they created with the blanket. It sent an unwelcomed shiver down his spine. He wearily considered his next course of action, "Um…Link?"
"Mhm?"
He drew in a breath, "When I say to scoot towards me, I mean scoot towards me but don't touch me, okay?" 'The bastard will cuddle me and I'm not about to let him think it's okay because it's cold.'
Quicker than he could react, his descendant whipped around, grabbed him, and squeezed him against his chest, "You mean like this?" He smushed his cheek into his temple.
The young hero was nearly getting his hair in his mouth, "Pbf! Pfft! GAHH LINK! Get off me dammit! No!" He squirmed more as the knight squeezed tighter.
"This is for threatening to bite me," He said with a conniving smirk before releasing him. "Also be quiet! My dad is trying to sleep above us."
He was breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush that gave him, "Dear Goddesses, I'll kill you. I mean it."
"Goodnight."
"No."
…
"Goodnight."
"Ugh, goodnight."