A Different World

Chapter 2

NOTE: I do not own the characters to Legend of Zelda or A Song of Ice and Fire

JON

As the words left his mouth, Jon felt vulnerable. Were these people wildlings or possibly connected with them? Several thoughts swam inside his mind. Am I so much in pain that I am becoming delusional? He shook his head and stared at the group of people looking at him, one of them appeared to be human but had pointed ears that were pierced – like the wolf that had saved his life. Accompanying this young man was some sort of spirit with multicolored skin. He looked to the right to find some sort of maester with strange hair who called himself Renado. There were children as well. They reminded him of his own siblings; Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Perhaps I'm dead. Perhaps this is the next life and these people are my family.

"Well Jon Snow," said Renado. "Can you tell us how you got here?"

Jon swallowed hard. I'm not an oathbreaker. I was merely doing what Qhorin Halfhand told me to do. He rehearsed his words in his head quickly. "I was sent to find information about the wildlings," he said. "My fellow brother of the Watch, Qhorin Halfhand, suggested that we infiltrate their ranks." He continued on, telling them how he killed Halfhand as part of the plan, how he met Mance Rayer, the King-Beyond-The-Wall, and how he broke his vows with Ygritte, and what he had discovered about the wildlings. He had told how he escaped the wildlings by riding through the cold climate north of The Wall when he had gone through a forest of sorts and ended up being attacked by wolves.

His hosts had scrunched faces. "Man," said the spirit creature. "You're really lost."

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Midna," said Link. "Hey, listen. Do you have any family at all?"

"No, well, yes but they're either dead or far away," said Jon. "My lord father was murdered. I am unaware of the fate of my brothers and sisters."

"Do you have a mother, Jon Snow?" asked Renado.

"I do but I do not know who she is. You see, I'm a bastard. My father's wife and myself were never close. Still, my father regretted his affair and he and his wife remained happily in love until he was killed." Jon hung his head, feeling even more vulnerable by pouring his heart out to a room full of strangers.

"It's all right, Jon Snow," said Link, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I don't have any parents around. All I remember is being raised in a village called Ordon. But I have several friends who I consider family." He looked around at the children from the Ordon village standing with him.

"I'm not worried about being disconnected with my family," Jon said. "My family are my friends with the Night's Watch. We are all brothers." He then explained the nature of the Night's Watch, the training, the vows, and the harsh environment that they lived in as well as his uncle, Benjen Stark, who was still missing.

"It seems that you have been through a great deal of anguish and stress," said Renado. "While I have no doubt in my mind that you will survive your ordeal, I believe that you should rest for awhile. You are in no condition to return back to...to..."

"Castle Black," Jon said.

"Castle Black, excuse me," Renado said. "Very well, please get some rest. I'll check back on you from time to time. Meanwhile, I'm having your clothes cleaned and mended. Your sword is also being cleaned as well." He then left the room with the children following suit. Link, however, stayed behind with the spirit creature with the strangely colored skin.

"Thank you Link," Jon finally uttered. "Thank you for saving my life."

"Finally, he shows some gratitude!" snapped Midna.

Link said nothing but shot Midna a dirty look. "You'll have to excuse Midna. She speaks her mind a little too much."

"That's fine. By the way, you can just call me Jon if you want. Snow is the name given to me because of my illegitimate birth."

"Listen," said Link. "Remember those wolves that attacked you?"

"Yes, but I remember one of them saved my life. He had pierced ears like yours."

"Well, I'll tell you something, Jon. If I tell you, will you promise not to reveal this to anyone?"

"I promise as long as you don't tell anyone about me being an oathbreaker."

"Well, that wolf that saved you was me."


LINK

He took a deep breath, hoping that Jon would hold his side of the bargain. After all, he may have betrayed his own friends; still, it was for the best interest of the group since they needed information about the wildlings that had been causing trouble. After remembering what Jon had to say about where he came from, the more Link trusted him. The young man had been through a great deal of pain and suffering, like himself. Both of them lacked parents and were separated from their families at one point in their lives.

Jon's eyes widened. "How did you become an animal?"

Link then told him the whole story about the Twilight, Zant, Midna, and how the Twilight Crystal helped him to change from Hylian to wolf form. "However," Link said. "I cannot change my form in front of my friends or in public places because people would assume I'm a monster; thus the reason why I cannot tell anyone about my transformations."

Jon smiled a little bit. "Your secret is safe with me," he said. "I find it interesting because I had kept a direwolf with me as a companion."

Now Link's eyes widened. "A direwolf?" Aren't they dangerous?"

"Only if you raise them right. Mine is white and I named him Ghost because he looks white as a ghost."

"Just like the ones that attacked you?"

"No. I almost thought one of them was Ghost but they were smaller. Ghost would be twice their size. Once I infiltrated the wildlings, I let him go, hoping he would get to Castle Black."

"I'm sure he'll be there. I'm going to let you get some rest for awhile, Jon. I'll check back occasionally."

"Thank you, Link. Thank you for your help and hospitality."

Link closed the door to the room and left the Elde Inn. He thought about taking Jon's horse to Ordon Village to be cleaned and taken care of as there were scars on his legs. Renado is good at treating people but not animals. He did lead the horse to the Eldin springs nearby and cleaned some of his wounds. Then, Link mounted the strange horse, expecting him to be startled but surprisingly, didn't mind Link sitting on him. He waved down Colin, one of the Ordon children staying in Kakariko and told him to tell Jon that he would be taking his horse to be cared for. Then, he ventured off to the Ordon Province. While on his way there, he wondered how Jon would get back home once he fully recovered. It was near impossible to cross the horrible terrains of Snowpeak. If he goes back home, they'll think him to be a traitor. The very thought had just crossed Link's mind. Plus, staying in Hyrule would be safer for Jon, considering his line of work. He thought that perhaps Jon would like to live in Ordon; help tend the livestock there or perhaps stay in Kakariko as a guard of some sort. Either way, there seemed a place for a young man who felt that he had lost everything.