A Different World

Chapter 5

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

JON

Everyone all gathered around a dinner table in Renado's home to partake of the beef stew that Barnes had made. The Ordon Village children; Ilia, Malo, Talo, Beth, and Colin sat on one side along with Renado's daughter Luda. On the other side was Barnes, Renado, Link, and Jon. The stew was better than anything Jon had ever eaten at Castle Black. To him, it tasted like the stews and soups he ate when he lived at Winterfell. His gaze shifted across the table and he imagined the Ordon Village children as Sansa, Arya, Robb, Bran, and Rickon. Bran was probably close to Colin's age, give or take a year. The only people missing from the table was his lord father, Eddard and his wife Catelyn. He sighed, knowing full well that he will never see his family again. There was talk at the dinner table about Jon and Link going to investigate a mirror of sorts far east into the desert. The multi-colored spirit creature called Midna referred to it as the Mirror of Twilight. Jon wondered about the desert; perhaps they would encounter the Dothraki there. If they did, he and Link would be no match for any of the khalasars as they ranged in the tens of thousands of warriors. A famous khal, Drogo, was said to have over 40,000 men.

Jon reached into a nearby basket for a piece of bread. He dipped it into his second helping of beef stew and chewed it. His thoughts then shifted to King Bulbin. How did he find out about me? Here I am, a stranger in a foreign land, far from Castle Black, and he refers me by my nickname? How can that possibly be? He finished his stew and excused himself from the dinner table and went back to the Elde Inn where he was staying. Fashioning a dummy out of some boxes and straw, Jon took to practicing his sword work. Since his sword didn't contain magic like Link's did, he had to make sure each stroke counted. About an hour into practice, Link enters the inn.

Jon looked up. "How was your dinner?" he asked.

"It was great. Barnes makes the best beef stew in Hyrule!"

"I really liked it myself. Reminds me of home."

"I see you are practicing. You really did well today; perhaps you should call it a night, Jon."

"Perhaps I should." He slid his sword in his sheath.

Link then slid off to his own room at the Elde Inn on the ground floor while Jon climbed the stairs to his room on the top floor. He changed into the nightclothes that were provided for him and climbed into bed. I guess I could stay here and live in Hyrule. There will be plenty of work and I could help defend the place. I could perhaps find a wife, too. He thought about Ilia but shook his head. She was pretty and sweet, but Link seemed to be attached to her (not to mention Ilia's memory loss) and he didn't want to come between her and his friend. Link had spoke of a placed called Hyrule Castle and the small town that surrounded it. Perhaps I could find a woman there. He finally closed his eyes and fell asleep, catapulting him into what seemed like a very real dream. Jon found himself back in the snow again, fleeing the wildlings on a stolen horse. He saw the forest again and rode right through it and kept on riding for what seemed like eternity until he saw a shadowy figure, wearing a multicolored tunic with a pattern that was similar to Midna's and a strange mask that had bulging eyes and an elongated tongue. Jon drew his sword, ready to attack the figure.

"So this is Lord Stark's bastard, is it?" the figure spoke.

"How do you know me?" Jon replied.

"Everyone knows you, Lord Snow! It is you who knows nothing!" With that, the figure levitated and released a form of energy that struck Jon with such force that it knocked him clean off of his horse and onto his back. Jon immediately woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily.


LINK

The next morning, Link and Jon were preparing their horses for the journey to the desert. Jon had asked Link about the people that had lived there and Link replied that there used to be a race of women known as Gerudos that lived in the desert, much to Jon's relief. Link was told by Jon that, in Westeros, there was a group of warrior people in the desert known as the Dothraki who would conquer cities and pillage them. Link assured his friend that the Gerudos would never do anything like that. After packing up, Link had decided that they would take a side trip to Hyrule Castle Town to buy supplies. He gave his friend Jon a few hundred rupees to buy some potions and a Hylian shield since Jon only had the foreign currency he carried with him from the strange land of Westeros. He also told Jon that if one cuts grass with one's sword, sometimes rupees could be found there.

"Money growing out of grass?" asked Jon. "I've never heard of that before."

"Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't." Link smiled at him. "You're probably not used to finding money on the ground like that."

"I have found money on the ground but it's only a few coins here and there, nothing big." Jon put the rupees in a satchel that was attached to his horse.

"Did you sleep well last night, Jon?" asked Link.

Jon swallowed a little bit and reluctantly replied, "Yes, yes I did. Thank you for asking."

"You didn't have any strange or bizarre dreams, right?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary," Jon replied with the same reluctance.

Suddenly, Midna appeared out of Link's shadow and hovered herself above the horses. "Are you guys going to get a move on or what? We gotta find that Mirror of Twilight."

Link rolled his eyes. "We'll be there in a minute." He turned to Jon. "Don't mind Midna, she can be impatient sometimes."

"I heard that!" snapped Midna.

"Anyway, Hyrule Castle should be a few hours ride from here. We'll collect what we need and then take the long trip to the desert."

The two friends hopped on their horses and rode out of the gates of Kakariko toward Hyrule Castle Town. Link had warned Jon in advance that there were enemies along the pathway, which they avoided deftly. Link had rode in this area before and knew where everything was while Jon was trying to look at everything at once while keeping his eye on the road at the same time. They had passed Zora's Domain where Link told Jon about the Zora, a race of fish-like people whose queen was killed during the invasion of Twilight.

Another hour later, the two arrived in Hyrule Castle Town. Jon had told Link that it looked like the castle he was raised in, called Winterfell. This Winterfell Castle must be really big. Link had seen the inside of Hyrule Castle and for once, wondered what it would be like to live there since Jon had spent most of his life living in a similar abode. They both tied up their horses and went to the various shops to stock up on various potions, weapons, and bombs since Link had forgotten to get some at Barnes' Bomb Shop back in Kakariko. Afterward, Link took Jon to a cafe known as Telma's Bar for something to drink before they rode off on their journey. They entered the bar and a large chested woman greeted them inside.

"Why hello there Link!" said Telma. "How are you doing?" She smiled at him and gave Link a playful wink.

"I'm doing quite well," said Link. "Ilia's doing fine; we're helping her with her memory."

"I was just about to ask about her!" Telma looked behind Link to see Jon standing behind him, his eyes fixated on her bosom. "And who, pray tell, is this fine young man?"

"Oh, him? He's my friend, Jon Snow. Jon, meet Telma."

Jon immediately directed his gaze toward Telma's face. "Nice to meet you, Telma."

"Nice to meet you too, Jon Snow. Can I call you Jon Snow or just plain Jon?" She winked at him, prompting Jon to blush.

"Just plain Jon is fine." His face continued to turn a bright shade of pink.

"We'll have two glasses of wine, Telma. We're on our way to the Gerudo Desert." They both found a table to sit at and Link gave her a handful of rupees, which Telma promptly refused.

"It's on the house, Honey," she said. Telma then left to pour their drinks.

"Telma is...uh, quite the woman," Jon said quietly to Link.

Link grinned at Jon. "That's what I thought when I first met her myself."

"Here are your drinks, boys!" called Telma as she gave them their wine. "Enjoy!"

Link took his wine and raised it. "To adventure and Hyrule!"

"To adventure and Hyrule!" repeated Jon, clinking his wine with Link's. They toasted their new journey and happily drank their wine.