Chapter Eleven

Rusl

The journey from the woodlands to Ordon Village had been full of silence and regret, regret that they had not been faster, fought harder, regret that they had lost their companion, their friend. Still, though, they walked on. "He'd be a fool to attack us twice in one span," Rusl sighed when they sat to take a break from the road. Something still unsettled him about the attack, though. Auru had warned them all that the Gerudo were notoriously good fighters, all trained from childhood. And yet, his group had defeated them.

"He is a fool, though," Shad commented and sat, leaned against a towering tree. Rusl knew the clearing well. He had often practiced his swordsmanship in the place. It was far enough from home to give him some time alone with his thoughts, but close enough that he could return quickly. "We know that."

Rusl watched as Ashei sighed and pulled out her map from her satchel. "We are not far now," he said to her. "We should be there before daybreak." He was so close to seeing his wife again, to seeing his friends. He only wished the children would be there as well, and he prayed to the gods that Renado would keep them out of the Usurper King's clutches. He had already lost Link, and he doubted he could handle losing Colin as well.

"We take anyone willing to leave," Ashei spoke after a moment. "We do not force anyone wanting to stay and die in their homes to come with us." Rusl nodded and sighed deeply, knowing some would insist upon staying. Bo and Fado would want to learn to fight, to stand up against the Demon King. Jaggle and Pergie would want to avoid peril. Sera would question the presence of a real threat, though, he had no doubt, and would insist upon staying. He glanced over at the map she was holding. It was not of Hyrule, at least not that he recognized, but of some surrounding land. He hoped it was a map of where they were headed.

"Even if any of them fight," Shad began. Rusl glanced over at the boy. He had to have been young, Link's age, maybe a bit older. When they had first met, Rusl had noticed the boy's lack of confidence, but over time, he had watched him grow into a man. "We still will not have the numbers we need to confront Ganondorf." The scholar pulled out a book from among his things, one of Auru's, Rusl noted. "The Gerudo nearly died out after he was sealed away, but they have had time to rebuild, to repopulate. I'm certain he will bring them all here."

"We will figure something out," Ashei sighed and stood, collecting her things as she moved. "For now, we need to worry about getting as much distance between us and them as we can." She turned to face Rusl. "You know the way better than we do. Lead."

He nodded and got to his feet, navigating through the familiar Faron Woods. He had never felt more relieved in his life than he had when he saw the rickety suspension bridge connecting the Faron Province to Ordon, to see that there was no sign of destruction, at least not nearby. He stopped, though, when they reached Link's house, and admired how the structure had not changed, despite the chaos going on in the world around it. He felt queasy knowing the boy would never inhabit it again, would never come home, would never have a wife, children... He continued onward to the village proper, though. There was no time to dwell on such thoughts, not when time was of the essence. Too much dawdling could result in another attack from Ganondorf's forces.

"Rusl," Bo greeted as soon as the man was within earshot. For the first time in Rusl's memory, he saw the grim expression upon the mayor's face. In the time Rusl had lived in Ordon, he had always known the man to be jovial, maybe even a bit incompetent. "I am glad to see you alive."

"Could say the same to you," Rusl sighed and glanced around the village, relieved, at least for the time being, to see that the chaos and destruction plaguing the land had so far avoided his home, though he knew it would not last long. "These are my friends, Shad and Ashei," he introduced the two standing behind him. "Shad is a scholar, and quite possibly the most intelligent man I know. Ashei is a skilled fighter and leader, one of the bravest people I have ever met."

"A pleasure," Bo nodded toward Rusl's companions. The swordsman was glad Bo did not comment further. He knew the group was pathetic at best. They were a swordsman, a fighter, and a scholar. Three individuals would be unlikely to instill fear in Ganondorf's heart, Rusl knew that, but they had to work with what they had, had to grow, had to become stronger if they were to have any hope at success.

"My wife?" Rusl asked after a long moment of silence. He wondered if she had been told of Link's defeat, of the fall of the kingdom. He had no doubts Bo knew, but that the mayor had decided to remain silent on the matter, at least for the time being. He hated to think that Uli had been alone, left to her grief with no one to comfort her. At least he had had the company of the Resistance.

"In your home," Bo answered. Rusl nodded and turned to face his home. It had seemed lifetimes ago that he had helped to build it, that he had taken Uli as his wife. Times had been simpler, happier back then. "Go," Bo smiled slightly, and Rusl all but ran to the place.

He took a shaky breath and opened the door, relief flooding over him when he saw his wife, sitting in her chair, mending an old shirt as if nothing had changed. She was not her usual, happy self though. She seemed older, more frail, and he noticed her hands shaking as she worked. Still though, her face lit up when she saw him, and he pulled her into a tight hug. "Is it true?" she asked, her voice shaking.

He could not bring himself to say the words, to tell her that the boy they had raised like a son had left the world, had been taken by the cruel goddesses who were too obsessed with playing their twisted little game to worry about the people of the world. Reluctantly, he nodded, and felt his heart tear in two at the sound of his wife's sobs.