-Come Back When You're Older-
-Love: Lost, Found, and Lost Again-
The weathered dirt path twisted and turned throughout the forest, leaving Link to believe several times that he had been doing nothing but walking in circles. The light above filtered down through the trees till it was little more than a mere glow, illuminating his way. As they traveled deeper into the grove, a feeling of vertigo washed over the two. Link remembered this feeling from early on in his first journey, it was why this place was called the Lost Woods, you didn't just become lost, the forest made you lost. If you were to succumb to the magical wood's trap and give yourself up to the encroaching darkness, the most horrible, twisted things were said to happen. It was rumored that the stalfos, deadly skeletal warriors that plagued Hyrule, were actually the remains of the devoured travelers.
Link shrugged off the feeling as he kept his vision pointed straight down the road. The sounds of birds intermittently cracked the silence, but for the most part the only noise was the sound of Epona's hooves digging into the dirt. Ever vigilant for any manner of creature that thought Link or his stallion a tasty meal, his hand never strayed far from the sword strapped to his saddle.
As the forest grew darker, a sign of the approaching night, Link squinted his eyes, looking for another sign that they were on the right And a bend in the path, Link's vigilance was rewarded with a sign post, one end pointing the way he was going, the other the way he had came. Link was relieved to see that he was headed in the direction of "Termina" scribbled on the aging wood. The young man breathed a sigh of relief.
The dream he had had the night before still plagued him, though. The vision of Romani being beaten by that brute of a man made his blood run cold even now. He had no clue if the dream was a precognition or some wild, sleep deprived hallucination, but he prayed he would get to Termina will all due speed to find out.
Now, though, that Link was finally in sight of his destination, he had little if any idea what he was going to say when he got there. He was a complete klutz with words, more so with women in general. He could see the conversation in his mind's eye.
"I….I…""Do I know you?"
"I…I'm Link, don't you remember me?"
"No…"The thought nearly made him want to turn tail and ride Epona back to the safety of Hyrule. Maybe Zelda was right after all, maybe he was as happy as he would ever be. But in the back of his mind, a voice screamed at him to through all his fears to the wind, he was the Hero of Time, and he needed to live up to the title. To strengthen his mental resolve, he body seemed to involuntarily whip the reigns harder, sending the horse rocketing down the road.
He would find Romani, and tell her how he felt. He would hold her in his arms and feel the waist length red hair become caught between them. And with one deft move he would tilt her head towards his and let their lips meet in the sweet perfection of the first real kiss. The thought was amazing.
At least it would have been if Link had noticed the low hanging tree limb, speedy toward him. The air was knocked out of him as he was clothes-lined off of Epona, landing hard on his back. Coughing and gasping for air, Link tried to justify there being a branch so low on such a frequently traveled path. He was answered, as the branch seemed to be thrown to the ground, and the bushes began to rustle.
Still unable to breath, Link lay curled on the dirt road, Epona neighing and rearing up spasmodically. Two Figures, draped in black, stood to either side of the incapacitated man and whispered to each other.
"Looks like another Hylian, dirty pieces of scum. Think he has anything good on 'im?" Said the one to the left. Link felt helpless laying their on the ground, his lungs still fighting for air, the back of his head exploding with pain. The figure's companion pulled a small knife from beneath the cloak and whittled his fingernails, as if bored.
"You know the scrawny ones never got anything good on 'em." From down the road, another black marauder was pulling his horse towards his two comrades. The one who just spoke looked to the Gerudo stallion as if it was a piece of meat to be inspected. "A desert mare, though, is a prize worthy of any king. What was a vagabond like this doing with her?"
Link began to breath normally and had raised himself up unto his elbows. Immediately the figure closest to him brought a booted foot to Link's neck and slammed him back onto the ground. "I don't think so, boy." He held the foot there and turned to the man holding Epona who was shouting excitedly.
"Oooooh! Looky a' what our young friend 'ad on his person!" The man, his face still shrouded in darkness, a hissing tone to his voice, waved the sword Link had been given high in the hair. "This is the finest work I've ever seen."
"It'll fetch a pretty penny in Holodrum, that's for sure. Along with the horse and the girl, we'll be well off enough to live like kings!" Girl, Link thought, they were going to sell a person? Link had heard that the slave trade still existed in the more uncivilized parts of the world, but he never thought it would be so close to home.
"What do we do with 'im?" Said the one to the left. Link didn't think the answer would be good, he had only one chance to make his escape. While most of the attention was on his sword, he slowly brought his hand to bare on the small satchel strapped to his belt. The boot pressing against his neck disappeared, but was replaced by the cold steel of a knife.
"Kill 'im, take the parts we can glean back to camp, we'll have the long meat tonight." As horrified as Link was, he was sure if the assailant's face were visible, it would be smiling. These men ate people, and they planned to make the Hero of Time their next meal.
But not if Link had anything to do with it. The knife trailed down his neck, and across his chest, stopping near his stomach. The man lightly jabbed Link, eliciting a sadistic laugh.
The one holding Epona laughed maniacally. "Oooooh boy! The long pork! The long pork! It's been so long since we've dined on Hylian!" Link's heart raced as the man holding him at knifepoint made slow slashing motions, savoring his kill.
"Ain'tchoo gonna scream, boy?" It was now or never, as the man brought the knife up for the killing blow, Link pulled the cord on his satchel and spilled the contents onto the ground.
"Not this time!" Link grabbed the small nut and, closing his eyes, slammed his hands together, opening the Deku nut and expelling the blinding light. The three men screamed and brought their gloved hands to their faces. Link jumped to his feet and took the knife from the man's hand, shoving it into his hooded face. The assassin let out a howl and black smoke ejected from the hood and gloves, and the cloak fell to the ground, its owner sent spiraling into the spirit realm. It all made sense, they were the shadow men, people said to live in the deepest parts of the Lost Woods. They lived in the darkness and fed off the evil that surrounded them. And Link thought the rumor of Stalfos had been bad.
Taking the knife in his hand, Link took it by the tip and flung it as fast as he could without compromising his aim. The dagger found its home in the chest of the man holding his sword. As the figure expelled his spirit, the cloak and the sword fell. But before the precious weapon could hit the dirt, Link had it in his hands, and he turned to face the last shadow figure.
But as fast as Link was, he was not fast enough. The man had regained his sight and had unsheathed his own blade, the color of obsidian, just like the creature's heart. Holding the sheathed Goron sword in both hands, kneeling in the dirt, Link waited for the man to make his move, but he simply stood their, sword brandished.
"Time to tip the balance." The man said as he brought his left hand to the sky. The light that fell through the forest canopy slowly dissipated and soon it was as black as night. Link stood motionless, he might not be able to see in this blackness, but his adversary could. But as a Forest Elf, Link's ears were some of the best trained in the land, and she stood stone still, waiting for the creature to make a mistake.
Epona neighed, and obstructed Link's hearing. He silently pleaded with her to stay silent, but she stopped too late, and Link was only able to hear the creature as he brought his sword down, looking to strike the hero down. Link rolled to the side and hear the weapon sink into the soft earth. Dropping the sword, Link dug his right foot into the ground to steady himself, he knew the creature was right in front of him, leaving Link an open shot. He brought his hands together and thrust them out in front of himself. The wind blew hard and the leaves whipped this way and that. Taking one quick breath, Link screamed into the silent blackness.
"Din's Fire!" The burst of flame flew from Link's hand and illuminated the forest. It plunged into the figure standing in the middle of the road and he screamed as the flames consumed him. Link dropped to one knee, the life nearly drained out of him from conjuring the spell. Breathing slow and heavy, the hero struggled to make sense of what just happened. Two cloaks lay inert on the side of the path, one sat burning in the middle. The creatures had meant to take Epona and the sword, and sell them to the highest bidder, but hadn't they also mentioned a girl…?
Link knew he couldn't leave anyone behind to become a slave. Catching his breath, he took one of the black cloaks and threw it over his shoulders, doing his best to hide his face. Strapping his sword behind his back, Link lead Epona off to the side of the road, tying her to a tree.
"It's going to be okay girl, I'll be right back." The horse struggled to free herself from the restraints, but snorted softly that she understood. Link looked back across the road and set off into the brush, hoping to find a trail to follow back to the marauder's camp.
The forest was now growing dark with the coming of night, and Link began to regret his careless romp through the forest. He had followed the creatures' trail well enough, but he would be at a disadvantage in the twilight. Using every tracking skill he knew, Link prowled through the forest with little noise to signal his existence. In the trees up ahead, he could hear the sound of voices talking loudly, confidently, and see the dim light from a small fire. Pulling the hood tighter over his head, Link struggled to look as inconspicuous as possible. Nearing the encampment, Link was relieved to see it wasn't very large, a small hunting party, possibly seven other individuals. But they were all deadly killing machines.
Drawing closer, Link could discern the forms of three sentries, all patrolling the perimeter. Their forms stood so still, Link almost thought that they were fixtures of the forest floor. Nearing one, he could see them as they moved from spot to spot, listening intently, then moving on to the next. As one moved from its spot, Link silently dropped to the ground, and hugged it as he crawled over to the sentry's last position. Link waited as the next sentry glided silently to a position right in front of the prone Hylian. In one deft move, Link stood up and brought the knife to the neck of the creature, slitting it and pulling the form down with him, letting it expire silently, close to the ground. He waited to see if the others would notice, but the their comrade's disappearance wasn't noticed by them.
Link repeated the action twice more, till the sentries were dispatched, and his way into the camp was open. Another hundred yards, and Link neared the glow of the camp. Around a small camp fire, three of the shadow men sat on boxes, speaking loudly to each other about their luck.
"Tamil and Azril are out right now, taking care of some stupid boy and his horse, The boy looked weak and useless, but the horse was a Gerudo Stallion." The other two voiced their approval and then continued on. Link's cheeks grew red. He would show them weak, he would show them useless. Three tents dotted the perimeter, all open for Link to see. If they were hiding a girl, she wasn't in any of the tents.
"Get back in there!" Two forms emerged from the woods on the other side of the camp. Another shadow creature, and the stumbling form of a woman entered. The woman had restraints on her hands, and a gag over her mouth. The creature brought a boot up and shoved her into one of the tents, then sat down with the rest of the men.
"I'll be glad to be rid of her, I am sick of playing nanny. This is the forth time she's escaped, haven't you been watching, Tobias?" One of the other men, playing with a short sword, looked up at his superior and snorted.
"I'm not going near her, she bites." Link chuckled at the thought of a grown woman scaring a cold-blooded killer. The conversation began anew and Link seized his opportunity.
Walking into the light of the camp, Link strolled straight up to the group of men. The conversation stopped and the men all turned to the newcomer. Link looked at the ground, desperately trying to hide his face. The one named Tobias stood up and bowed slightly to Link.
"Where are the others? What did you find?" Link knew this was risky, but he unstrapped the sword from off his back held it out for the others too see. Overcome by greed, the men crowded around the weapon and did not bother inspecting Link. "By the spirits, that's Goron work for sure, it'll fetch a pretty price. Let me see it" The creature grabbed for the sword, but Link pulled it from the sheath. Whipping around and letting the hood fall from his face, he found he was in the perfect position, they were all crowded around him.
"What the…!"
"He's not one of us!"
"Don't just stand there! Get 'im!" But Link was not about to was his advantage and swung the sword around, cutting through the first two men like a hot knife through butter. The other two fell back and Link jumped into the air, bringing his weapon down for a killing blow to one.
Having enough time to react, the survivor grabbed his fallen friend's and drew it in front of Link. The sword Darunia had given him handled like a dream, and Link twirled it menacingly in his hand.
"I just want the girl." He said softly. But he knew this wouldn't be ended through negotiation.
"Too late, I'm going to do things to you that you haven't experienced in your worst nightmares." And he charged the hero, his weapon high above his head. Link brought his up to block the swing and twirled around on one foot and swung his sword low, hoping to connect with the legs. But the shadow creature was fast, and leapt into the air, and kicking Link in the mid section on the way down. Link fell flat on his back and rolled to the side, barreling missing the blade. Bringing a booted foot up, Link kicked the man away and jumped to his feet. Link took the initiative and thrust the sword forward, but was parried. Link twirled once more and sliced a small part of the cloak, but didn't make a connection.
BANG!
Link was in the middle of coming back around for another attack when he found the cloaked man face first in the ground. Standing above him was the girl they had been keeping hostage, an iron pan in her tied hands. Link breathed a sigh of relief and brought the sword down on the prone figure, releasing the smoke of his spirit. The girl dropped the pan and frantically tried to take the gag off, mumbling and gesturing incoherently. Link put his sword down and reached for the gag.
"Mmhmmhhmm…" Ripping the gag off, the girl gasped for air and pointed her hands behind Link. "Behind you there's one more!" Link's heart dropped as he turned to find another cloaked man baring down on the two, a mean looking dagger drawn. Having no time to grab his weapon, Link brought his hands up and caught the man as he lunged for Link, knocking all three of them over.
"Umph!" The woman, crimson hair dirty and tangled with mud, fell and hit her head on a log, knocking her unconscious. Link and the figure struggled, having dropped his dagger; it became a fight to see who could grab a weapon first. Link had the upper edge and reached for his sword, bring it down and slicing a whole through the survivor.
"By the goddesses!" Link yelled, his heart beating faster than ever before. He went silent and listened to the forest, waiting to see if anymore of the creatures would appear out of nowhere. Satisfied that he had finally dispatched everyone, he turned his attention to the maiden laying at his feet.
Her pale complexion was smeared with dirty and specks of blood, he hair a tussled mess. Link had never seen a girl like her, but he imagined in the state she was in, her own family would hardly recognize her. Her ankle length brown dressed was ripped in several places, but it seemed as though she was mostly in tact. Kneeling beside her, he took her hand and checked her pulse.
"Still alive," He felt the veins pulse with life. "And married too." He looked at the golden band with a large ruby in it. "Well don't worry, we'll get you home safe." Link collected her stagnate form and hoisted her up in his arms, light as a feather. Her head rolled back and her bare neck was exposed, which caused Link to gasp.
Around her neck, a small gold necklace hung, a green emerald attached to it in the shape of the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. It couldn't be, Link thought, he had given that to Romani.
This was Romani. And she was married. Link was speechless, what had happened in the five years of his absence? How had she forgotten about him so easily? His heart sank, plummeting past his stomach, and down into his feet, replaced by angst.
A single tear formed at the corner of his eyes, and he brought a gloved hand up to brush it away. Like it or not, he still had to return her home, then he needed to figure out where to go from there.
Slowly and deliberately, Link shuffled back into the woods, towards the path to Termina, his heartburning in theflamesof that diminishing campfire.
A/N: Review and tell me what you think, please!