"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!"

A voice that was much too cheerful tried to raise Link from her slumber, yanking the sheets off of her as the curtains were opened by someone else who was chuckling. Link meanwhile was hissing at the light that barged in on her, feeling like she'd barely closed her eyes and she was being awakened.

"Aw, looks like someone's not a morning person." A chuckling voice said from near the window.

With much grumbling and annoyance, Link would sit up and rub her eyes, and then look at the people around her, blinking. Anju was smirking at her from near the window and Aryll was grinning as she held the blankets she'd so evilly taken from Link. Link gave the little girl a death glare and got a burst of giggles in return.

As the memories of last night returned to Link, and she remembered where she was and what her situation was. Trying to put it in the back of her mind, she spoke to Anju, "No, I'm not a morning person, never have been. I have a nasty habit of sleeping in late. What time is it by the way?"

"Half past noon. I figured you'd had a rough couple of days, so I let you sleep in, but this is kind of ridiculous."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. You hungry?"

"Starving, actually." Link said, grinning embarrassedly when her stomach emitted a loud grumble, a bold declaration that food was wanted. Aryll burst into another fit of giggles.

"Well," Anju said, walking over to the closet and retrieving some clothes from it. "Like Aryll so chipperly declared, we have eggs and bacon waiting for you in the pub."

"Bakey bakey!" Aryll said happily, dropping the blanket and picking up her telescope. "I helped make the bakey!"

"Yes you did!" Anju said in a praising to her. "Since Bandam and Aryll came to our group, I've been teaching her to cook."

"That's nice." Link said, smiling as she took the clothes Anju offered her. She noticed a long white strip of cloth in the bundle though, which confused her.

"It's currently well known among the city guards that you escaped from the prison last night. They're on the lookout for someone of your description." Pointing at her breasts she said, "You need to tie those down and cut your hair short so you can pass off as a guy."

Link was silent for a moment. She did not like the idea of having to hide herself like that, even as she understood why it was necessary. With a grumble, she nodded and took the white strip of cloth. She shrugged off her worn, brown prison tunic and started to wrap the cloth around her chest, sucking in her breath and tying her breasts down. When she was done, she was grimacing. It was hard to breath like this. Anju gave Link a sympathetic smile while Aryll giggled slightly.

There was a knock at the door then, and Don's voice came from the other side. "Hey, breakfast's getting cold."

"Okay." Link wheezed. It would take some getting used to, talking with her chest bound, "Be there in a minute."

"You okay?" Don called from the other side, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Just…peachy."

"She just did the thing you suggested Don." Anju called back through the door.

"Wait, this was Don's idea?" Link asked, glaring at the door, as if Don would feel her ire.

"Why did you tell her that?" Don asked, a small worried laugh coming from him. "Should I be running away now?"

"I'm gonna kill you Don."

"Oh yeah, definitely gotta run and magic myself invisible. "

At this point Aryll was in a fit of giggles and Anju herself was chuckling. "Might be a good idea Don. Our 'Hero' looks like she's in a bad mood."

"Bad mood just about covers it." Link grumbled.

"Have Aryll come find me when Link's less likely to rip my head off." Don said through the door before leaving, his feet making a light patter sound as he left. Link was bemused by the statement, glancing at Aryll for elaboration.

"I know Don's favorite hiding spot, and I pinky swore to never tell anyone." Aryll said, holding up her pinky .

"Neat." Link mumbled as she grabbed the rest of the clothes and started to dress. She put on a white tunic with a faded green doublet over it, comfortable tan breeches with calf-high belted boots. All of the clothes were of fair quality, even if they looked well-used. Anju then handed Link a girdle with a purse and small pouch attached to it.

"The pouch has a flask of Red Elixir inside it, and the purse has 50 Rupees." Link opened the purse and saw a dozen blue and green rupees, and then opened the pouch, checking out the tin flask, which had a red dot sticker on it, signifying it had a health elixir in it.

"I thought the Red Elixirs were bunk, like snake-oil and stuff." Link said, raising her eyebrow at Anju.

"Maybe the stuff they try to peddle in the big cities is junk, but that's the real deal. There's a witch in the underground market of this town that make and sell those cheap. She's a friend of ours that helps us oppose Fangor. Apparently her sister was captured and messed with by him."

"Didn't Bandam say something last night about working on restorative potions?" Link asked, trying to recall everything she heard last night.

"Yeah, Bandam once worked on a folk-remedy using Chu-Chu Jelly. That potion uses that Jelly, but it's also mixed with a couple mushrooms and herbs to give it true effect."

Link nodded as she put the girdle and attached accessories on. Fully dressed, Link followed Anju out of the room and down the stairs to the Tavern part below. There were a couple people there now, most of them looking like laborers in for a quick pint during their lunch break. Barely any of them looked up to notice Link, but a couple did wave at Anju. Anju brought Link to the bar where Mutoh was sitting, looking after Link's plate eggs, bacon, and milk. He was cradling a drink of his own, and gave a small wave when Link walked up.

"Sleep well little las-er, laddie?" Mutoh asked, a friendly smile on his face. He looked fairly tired, with dark spots under his eyes.

"Fine, but, you don't look like you did." Link said with a tone of concern as she pulled her plate to her and started to dig in, feeling ravenous. She briefly wondered how long it'd been since she last ate, and guessed it to have been about 2 days, though since she had been brought from New Hyrule while unconscious, she had no idea how long she'd been out.

"I'm the Doorman at night, and cuz of your escape, I had to stay extra alert all night to make sure you and Don weren't followed." Mutoh whispered, a slight grumble of annoyance in his voice. He stood up then saying, "Now that you're up and about to go out, I can go to sleep. You can finish my drink if you like."

As he left Link grabbed the cup and sniffed its contents, her nose wrinkling. It was obviously cheap ale, the kind of swill that the Lon Lon Pub would never serve. But Link realized that she wasn't exactly in the big city, and more, the tavern was likely dealing with hard times with Fangor and the resistance demanding the attention of its owner. She shrugged and downed the glass, after which she coughed and had to fight the urge to gag. Anju was off to the side, laughing heartily at Link's reaction. Glancing at her, Link could tell she needed a good laugh.

"You downed it like a pro, but you clearly don't like the taste." Anju said mirthfully. "What was the problem?"

"I worked as a waitress at a pub in New Hyrule Town, we were a big pub that generally had merchants and lesser nobles as our clientele. That meant we generally provided quality booze, with Milky Mead and Whimsy Wine being our best drinks. I treated myself or got free drinks every now and then, and even won a drinking contest or two(no one can actually remember who won the second one), so I can handle my booze, but this stuff is just rough."

Anju just smiled and shook her head, apparently taking no offense until Don spoke up from right next to Link, where Mutoh had been sitting a minute ago, "Don't worry Link, I don't like the crap here either."

Link practically jumped out of her chair at Don's sudden appearance and words. Anju also seemed fairly startled, but her reaction was much more subdued. Several laughs and chuckles could be heard from the other patrons; apparently this is a habit for Don.

"You jerk!" Link said as she punched Don in the shoulder before picking up her chair and sitting back down. "You nearly scared me to death!"

Don rubbed his shoulder as he chuckled. The punch hadn't exactly been light and playful, and he'd probably have a bruise there later, but he figured that after the white cloth and the scare, he somewhat deserved it, so he let it go. Anju however, wasn't as forgiving.

"You know you're not allowed to do that Don." Anju said, eyeing the Gerudo sharply. Aryll was trying to stifle her laughter, knowing that Don was in trouble and she would be too if she showed to much appreciation for his prank. "I don't care if half the town supports us, you never know when someone we don't want will notice your antics."

Don waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, I always check who's in the house before I prank, no one undesirable will notice."

Anju rolled her eyes with practiced annoyance, but she said nothing more, she just glanced at Link's now empty plate. "So, ready to go?"

Link was quiet for a second, glancing between Anju and Don's expectant faces. She suddenly felt very nervous, almost afraid. "You guys are serious about this whole 'Hero' thing, aren't you? You seriously expect me to somehow...save the world?"

"Yes," Don said without hesitation, his eyes fierce and sincere, "I do."

Link looked to Anju who looked less sure, but she nodded as well. "At this point, nothing less than a miracle will be able to stop Fangor and his army of monsters and nightmares. I once thought of the 'Hero Stories' as nothing but fairy tales like everyone else but...after the last couple days...I think we need that Hero, and the miracles he always brought to save Hyrule in its darkest days."

Feeling even more pressured than before, Link looked down at her plate, not really seeing it as she balled up her fists, trying to steel herself. She already scored her first kill the previous night, and since its supposed to get easier over time, she figured that she didn't have to worry about that. All she really had to worry about in the future was not dying, defeating terribly powerful monsters, overthrowing a mad warlock/scientist with the Tri-Force of Power, and saving the Kingdom from being torn apart by war. How simple...

"O-okay." Link said uncertainly. She slowly stood up. "Where am I going?"

Reaching below the bar, Anju grabbed two packages, one long and thing, and the other was small and round. She lead Link and Don towards one of the back room where she handed the packages to Link, who proceeded to unwrap them. It revealed a simple iron sword and an iron buckler. The sword had a sheath with a small strap, letting it be looped onto Link's belt. The buckler fit snugly around Link's right forearm.

"Hey, this buckler is designed for left-handed people!" Link noticed suddenly, securing the shield into place and noting the direction the straps were going.

"Heroes have a history of being left-handed." Don said smugly, "I procured your sword and shield on a hunch."

Link frowned for a moment, not remembering any of the Hero Tales she heard as a child mentioning the handedness of the Hero. She shrugged though, not paying it much mind.

"Like you were told last night," Anju said, drawing Link's attention. "You're going to the Temple in the woods today. Fangor's had control of this area for ages now, and has been moving his forces to places unknown for a while, so most of his troops are protecting his castle. We believe that the Temple will be lightly guarded, so you shouldn't have much trouble unless you take too long and reinforcements or something come."

Anju lead the duo to the back door, the same one that they'd come in through the night before. "Don already knows most of the important things and will fill you in on the way there. He'll be your back-up, but he's not a real fighter, so be careful."

Link nodded and said goodbye as she started to follow the mage-thief away from the tavern and out of town. Anju stood there for a moment, wondering worriedly about whether or not she was making the right decision. She finally turned and went back inside.

"Aryll~!" She called out as she headed back to the tavern to serve customers. Aryll was a trainee waitress, and was popular among the patrons for her adorableness. Normally when Anju called, the little girl would come running, but now she didn't hear any response.

"Aryll?"

Author's Commentary

Sweet black f**cking sabbath. I'm so sorry about the hiatus. Life happened, and when you stop writing its hard to pick back up. While the first couple chapters flowed easily, writing this chapter has been arduous because I don't really feel the muse as much as I did when I started. But here you go, the next chapter, a little shorter than I'd like, but its done. Hopefully as I work on subsequent chapters, it'll get easier. I also apologize for the teaser saying "Soon". I had just started this chapter and thought I was gonna roll through it. So, yeah. I'M BACK!