Chapter Four: Song of Healing

"This is a melody that heals evil magic and troubled spirits, turning them into masks. I am sure it will be of assistance to you in the future."

—Happy Mask Salesman

Cremia hurried to Link's side at his call, staying well away from the jaws of the enormous beast. Link held the wolf down by the scruff of his neck and his hip, using his body as leverage, nearly covering him completely. The wolf struggled for a bit, but shied away when Link tightened the hand on its neck. Link had a strange, frenzied expression in his eyes as he held the animal down, looping a coil of rope around its muzzle and its neck and pulling it tightly. She had never seen Link that way, not even when he saved her shipment from the Garo bandits. He was always calm and focused, the epitome of a warrior. That was why Kafei made him Captain of the Guard. This look about him did not fit in with her perception of him. Cremia knew it was caused by the wolf, but what about it? That was the two hundred rupee question.

She couldn't think about it any longer; she had a job to do. The wolf was in terrible condition. There was no time to be lollygagging around. She forced down her fear, swallowing thickly. The animal was hurting, and Cremia felt for him. His eyes were half-closed, glazed over in pain. She could tell it was confused. That was probably why it lashed out, the poor thing. She took her bone needle from her emergency pouch and started deftly stitching up the open wound, pausing every so often to make sure her stitches were straight and even. It was hard to tell against its fur, but there was no time to shave it. Being this close to the animal made her nervous, regardless of its restraints. It eyed her cautiously with every tug of her needle, wincing and growling with the pull. It made no move to attack her, easing her fears. Link was holding it down steadily, his muscles straining and pulling as the creature tried to shift its injured side away from pain. Cremia was familiar with simple veterinary procedures, but performing them on cattle and horses was a far cry different from performing them on a dangerous predator. She didn't know much about the make of such creatures. Although, she thought, I would rather have to watch for the kicks from horses and cattle rather than the deadly bite of a wolf.

Kafei watching her work made her even more nervous. He still wore his indigo hair long. She swallowed thickly and tried not to think about it. She took a deep breath to soothe her troubled thoughts and concentrated on her work.

Link's mind was racing. Of all times, of all the days, why? He had almost given up, praying to the Goddesses with no avail. This new development, out of the blue...Why seven years? This did not bode well at all. He could barely concentrate on holding the wolf down. His hand was tingling with the connection to this wolf. What did it mean, the Triforce-bearer here? He didn't know. However, he was not about to let this opportunity slip out from underneath him, not after waiting for seven years. This wolf could be the connection between here and Hyrule. No, not could. It was. Only those blessed by the Goddesses, those that were born—fated—to become a part of the Goddesses' plan would have a piece of the Triforce. He knew what he had to do. Although with every passing year he had put thoughts of his home behind him, it still called to him. This was his opportunity to regain what he had lost. The pull of Link's curiosity was strong. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure if I even want it all that much anymore. I have people here, now. He quickly pushed aside the thought. He did know one thing. He couldn't let it slip away. It couldn't die now, not when it held all the answers.

With a few more tugs, Cremia was done with her ministrations. She stood quickly, not wanting to remain so close to a volatile creature. Link stood violently as well, tugging on the rope coiled on his arm, forcing the injured wolf to stand. He appeared disheveled, his face and clothing covered in blood. The scene looked intentionally artistic; for both of them made quite a sight together, a fierce, untamed warrior standing next to a feral, barely controlled beast. Parallel cerulean eyes, proud and wild, shone bright with twin flames. Link's mind made up, his back rigidly straight, he reached under his robe, grasping at his belt for his mask, grasping the golden ears and pulling it to his face. Such irony. A golden wolf glared over the crowd, teeth bared.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Cremia asked him gently. The crowd had backed away completely from the man and woman, a ring of town guards encircling them, preventing the wolf from ravaging through the townspeople if Link's grip were to falter. It was far too injured to hurt anyone, but fear held them all in its grasp.

"Yes," he replied quietly, voice muted by the mask. His cool blue eyes surveyed the town. He saw people he knew for years, people that did not really know him. He glanced over the heads of Lulu (he winced; that hadn't gone well), the Goron Elder, Pamela, and others that he had helped. He saw people who, even if they had no idea of his past, knew him almost better than he knew himself. Link's blue eyes met the crimson eyes of Kafei and Kona, who had arrived with Anju during the commotion. All were people who did not need to get mixed up in his problem.

Link felt a tremendous sense of foreboding at that moment. For seven years, he had been allowed to languish here among these people, growing with them, living with them, becoming a part of their society. It was his fault that the proverbial wolf had been brought to their door. Had his coming here damaged the tapestry of this whole universe? There were times where he wondered if even the fact the Skull Kid had wandered here was his fault. There were deaths he could not stop, things that were irrevocably changed here. And then, Hyrule...How would Hyrule manage if a bearer of the Triforce was here? The fact that the current Triforce bearer was a wolf...what had caused the change? Had Hyrule really changed that much in a mere seven years? Link caught himself. There was no need to forecast. Time would tell.

He stooped down and grabbed the ceremonial staff, marred with blood and deep fang gouges in the wood.

"It is time," he said as he inclined his head at Kafei, who nodded shakily, giving the hand motion for the stairs to the top of the tower to be lowered. The doors dropped into steps as the mechanics of the clock tower whirled violently. The Revelers gathered from the edge of the crowd hesitantly as Link followed the gilded path to the doors, jerking the wounded wolf behind him, who followed stiffly, dragging his paws. He climbed to the top of the tower, standing on the moon face, beginning the complex ceremony.

The other four made their way single file to the cardinal points of the clock, except for Kita, North, who stood in the center. Link stood on the moon face. All five sets of eyes were staring up at the full moon. They were each robed in the four distinct color emblems of the regions with the masks of the four Giants on their faces. Link raised his staff as the four Revelers followed, bringing out their ceremonial swords simultaneously in respect for the Gods. The five gathered men's robes rustled as the wind picked up, filling the air with a haunting presence. All five moved in unison, commencing the Dance of the Giants. The Gorons below began beating on the drums in a rhythmic fashion, filling the air with the sound of the Giant's heartbeats. Swaying slightly to the beat of the drums, Link began to speak in time with the drums, punctuating each line of his verse with the solid thunk of the bottom of the staff against the flat clock face.

Link's voice haunted the listeners, the low tone of his chant sending chills through more than one spine, the crowd quiet in the spiritual moment. The Revelers added their voices in at the appropriate time, their voices rising and falling in harmony as they sang the Oath to Order, asking for harmony of both nature and time in the new year and pledging their loyalty to the Goddess.

As they finished the chant, the moon turned a dull red, marking the beginning of the eclipse and the Carnival of Time. Link sagged in relief. The lunar eclipse signaled the approval of the Goddess of Time. He was especially glad that things ended well, considering how they started. He glanced down at the huge wolf that strode by his side, their eyes meeting in a show of dominance. The wolf growled as Link tapped the bottom of the wolf's chin, close to its throat, and the wolf had no choice but to look away. Well, they ended mostly well. He had no idea what to do with it.

He walked down the tower, followed by his Revelers, who dispersed into the crowd. He bowed respectfully towards the crowd, most of whom were cleaning up the trampled mess now that the ceremony was over. He made his way to leave town, only to be stopped by Kafei's hand on his shoulders.

"We need to talk," Kafei said simply.

Link nodded. His surrogate family deserved answers.

As the rest of the town donned their masks and made their way up the Clock Tower, Link, Kafei, and Anju, with Kona in her arms, made their way through the crowd to the steps of East Clock Town. A wide berth was made around the foursome because of the wolf, so they easily made their way through the townsfolk, stopping only when they arrived at the Stock Pot Inn. The inn, originally a cafeteria owned by Anju's father, had expanded several times since Link had first seen it seven years ago. They had built upwards, adding another floor, creating one of the tallest buildings in Clock Town. They had also added a stable, so people could board their horses. Although it was the in-season, the lobby was thankfully empty due to the Carnival. The last thing they needed to do was scare the patrons, and with every room filled for the Carnival, things could get ugly quickly. They entered the Employees Only room on the second floor.

Link took his time lashing the wolf's muzzle-leash of rope to the bed, making sure it was secure, giving enough leeway for the creature to be comfortable, but not so much as to allow the beast room to roam free. They made a sight which would have appeared comical, with their feral appearance against the domestic background of the room, if not for the serious nature of the events of the evening.

They looked even more similar because of Link's mask. Kafei frowned at the burnished gold mask that hid Link's visage. The animal that Link's mask personified left him feeling uneasy. He wondered if it was a coincidence, briefly, before deciding that it was an omen of the Goddess. The thought made him cringe inwardly. He glanced down at the object in his hand. His own silver mask of a fox, so like the one given away years ago, grinned back at his discomfort. He laid it down on the dresser next to his wife's mask, which was that of a cucco. She had it since childhood, he remembered, when they met for the first time and promised to marry at the Carnival. Only the small distress signs of wear and tear were visible. She really did take good care of that mask, he though. Even though she always hated cuccos. It is strange what outward masks we don to show our inner truths.

The clink of the heavy mask dropping on the hard wooden surface brought Kafei quickly out of his thoughts. With the grimace of the Golden Wolf removed from Link's head, Kafei could now see his face. It looked pained, tired, and worn. Kafei could see it as they met one another's eyes. Anju quietly rocked Kona to sleep in the background.

"I'm really not sure how to begin. I've never told anyone this. Mostly because I doubt you'd believe me. It really is far-fetched." Link shuffled his feet on the ground, bringing his arms up into a stretch before sitting down heavily.

"Try your best. You believed me when no one else did," Kafei reminded the forlorn teen.

"I...I am not from around here," he said hesitantly, his voice sounding stilted.

That was just a confirmation of something that Kafei already knew. Anju shifted beside him, holding a sleeping Kona in her arms. The wolf, still leashed shortly to the heavy oaken bed bolted to the floor on the other side of the room, slept fitfully on the rug. He was very restless, shifting constantly in the quiet of the room.

"I come from a land...called Hyrule," Unseen, the wolf's ears pricked up. He was in that place of inbetween, that half land of dreams and reality.

Kafei frowned. "I've never heard of that place. Is it across the sea on the antipodes? Is that where you come from? An uncharted land known to the locals as Hyrule?" That would make sense, as he was unable to find a land that matched up to the snippets of Link's past that he had allowed to leak. He had searched. The Goddess knew he had searched, using every bit of information and connections he had in order to find any of the places Link had ever mentioned. It was all for naught.

"It is not...I know that for certain. It is a land from...Well...I don't really know how to explain it," Link said, pausing.

Inside, Kafei was urging Link to get on with it. He was extremely curious as to the experiences that built the character of this singular man, about what it took for a land to produce someone like him. He was the idealistic hero, a true selfless man without equal. Even from a young age, his ability to solve puzzles and fight monsters was legendary. What drove a person to become a man such as this, he had often wondered. What experiences led a man to save a land he was a stranger to? What flesh and blood man was that selfless? One chosen by the Goddesses, most would say, a favorite of the Giants, but there had to be more to it. It is not often a man becomes a legend in his own time, like Link. Everyone knew him, all across the far reaches of Termina. They may not have know the lengths he had gone to save the world, like Kafei did, but they knew him as a compassionate individual and a strong warrior.

"The best I can figure is...another land in...another world." Link ducked his head as he said it. That was Link. Courageous to a fault, but sheepish with the people that cared for him.

Kafei raised his eyebrow as Anju gasped in shock. Link was completely serious. Although his words were hesitant, his face was grave. Link was either insane or his words were true; based on the events earlier, he was inclined to believe the latter. Link had never shown any signs of insanity. In fact, he was as strong and stable as any person, if not more, regardless of his countless battles and many responsibilities.

Anju spoke up hesitantly, "I believe you. The wolf came from the Clock Tower. How? There is nothing but an underground spring powering the machinery and a door leading to clock mechanisms. He wasn't in there before." Kona's head rolled back, her mouth leaking drool on Anju's shirt. Kafei knew too. He and Zubora had gone around inspecting the machinery making sure everything was in proper working order for the Carnival. The door in the back of the Clock Tower was made of stone in order to prevent mischievous children from running off with clock parts. It was too heavy for them to open.

"That door...," Link trailed off. "I know that door well. That was the point upon which I entered this realm...forgotten to every member of my land."

Kafei looked pensive. "Then the stories of you arriving in the morning three days before the carnival are true?"

"Yes," Link said. "I had left my people in search of a beloved friend. She was invaluable to me. My best friend." He smiled, a weak thing. "We went through so much together. I miss her, even now. I didn't intend to come here. It was an accident, a mistake. I was looking for her. For over seven years she was by my side, guiding me, leading my through my most difficult times. I searched all over for her, except in the one place I was hesitant to go." Link stopped at this, taking a large breath and releasing it slowly.

Kafei, taking advantage of Link's pause, spoke. "A friend…she seemed like she was very important to you." For such a big thing, it was the first time Kafei had heard of it. He wondered if Link's guilt was what drove him forward.

"Yes. She was my best friend." Link looked down and began again. "She was my fairy."

"You had one before Tatl?" Kafei asked quietly.

"Yes," Link murmured just as quietly. "Her name was Navi."

Anju pulled them back on track. "What was this place? Why were you hesitant to go?"

"We had a legend, and it was due to this legend that part of the forest was known as the Lost Woods. Many foreign travelers had journeyed inside, after the treasures like the forest temple, or magical mushrooms. All disappeared," Link explained, thinking back to Grog.

'That guy isn't here anymore. Anybody who comes into the forest will be lost. Everybody will become a Stalfos. Everybody, Stalfos,' Fado sing-songed.

How those words haunted him! Link sighed. "It was said that non-fairy folk, or those without fairies, would become monsters if they did not have a fairy or a fairy child to guide them. However, I had no fear. I was raised in that forest. Fairy or no, I figured I would have no problem. However, during my search, the Skull Kid ambushed me. I raced after him—he stole my two most precious things to me: Epona and my Ocarina— until I had gone farther into the forest than ever before. I became completely lost, finding a cavern in a strange tree. I figured it was no more than a cave or a dungeon, and I thought I was prepared for the dangers. I was wrong. I entered into the tree, and found nothing under my feet but the air. I tried to steady my feet and fell, following a path and falling into this reality, although I had no idea I was in anything less than the Lost Woods at the time. I ended up here."

"You arrived in Clock Town through the Clock Tower like the wolf! That's why I couldn't find anything through the gate guards and the first people to notice you were Jim and his boys!" Kafei crowed.

"Did you ever try to go back?" Anju questioned, her face full of worry for her friend. She could not even begin to imagine what he had been through.

"I tried and failed many times," Link sighed. "It's not that I don't like it here. I love it. I really do. It's just…not home."

"No, I suppose not." Kafei said. This conversation had turned his worldview on its head. Link was from a different world. It was a hard concept for his mind to grasp. Of course, considering what he had done for people he didn't even know at the time and how long he had known him, it didn't change his opinion about the young man. However, he had many provocative questions that could not help but bubble up. "What will you do now? Is the portal open again? Is this Hyrule where the wolf came from? Will you try to return home?"

"I do not know. I think it is, on both those counts. And as for returning home, I think…for so long it was what I thought I wanted. As the years went by, I managed to quell the longing in my heart. I made a life here. I'm not alone." Like I was back home. Even Malon... Link shook his head."I have two best friends, a goddaughter, and a whole town to look out for me, though I don't know how much that has changed with tonight. They probably all think I'm crazy. I have friends in every corner of Termina. Surely, no one who was waiting for me would have spent seven years searching. I told no one but the Princess I was leaving."

"Princess!" Anju said in shock. "Are you royalty?"

"No, I'm an orphan. I grew up in the forest, under the care of its guardian spirit, the Great Deku Tree. The Kokiri, who you call the fairy folk, raised me, although I was not one of them. I came from the race of Hylians. I met young Princess Zelda after I was charged by him to deliver something precious to her. Her Majesty told me that I was chosen to be the savior of the land, due to a prophetic dream she had. It was an enormous task for two young children. We were against the Desert King Ganondorf and his army, thousands strong. He was after the Sacred Realm, a place sacred to our peoples. We thought we were helping by beating him to it. We ended up making things worse, unfortunately."

Link shifted uncomfortably under Kafei and Anju's intent gazes and continued on, "So we had to fix it. The Princess ended up in hiding when he attacked the Royal Family directly in a bold move. I ended up slogging through abandoned temples and dungeons," Link smiled wryly. "It was my specialty. I suppose you could consider me a professional spelunker."

Kafei interrupted. "All alone? At your age, against an entire army?" He couldn't fathom it.

"Not exactly at my age. I was sealed for seven years as the war raged around me, for I was too young, too weak to carry the legendary blade."

"Is that the…" Anju started to ask.

"No. I don't carry it anymore. It only leaves its pedestal in times of great need, and never Hyrule. It is vital to the defense of our land, for the evil-hearted can't touch it. It is known as the "Sword of Evil's Bane," or the "Master Sword." I wasn't totally alone. I had help. I had the essence of the Goddess Farore, known as the Triforce of Courage"

"Triforce?" Kafei questioned.

"Symbolizing the equality and power of the Goddesses. After creating our land, the Goddesses ascended to the heavens, leaving three triangles in the shape of a fourth, larger triangle. Each represents Their strongest aspect. Din grants power. Nayru grants wisdom. To hold the Triforce is to hold the power of the Goddesses in your hands. However, if one's heart is not tempered with all three, the Triforce will shatter, and you will be granted the aspect closest to your traits. Ganondorf lusted for power above all, so when the door to the Sacred Realm was opened by my foolishness, with me too young to defend it, he split it."

Anju, following closely, had to ask. "So who received wisdom?"

Link answered. "Princess Zelda. Under Farore's protection, with Zelda's help and the help of the six other Sages, I was able to seal away the evil King. The land hailed me as the Hero of Time. I didn't like it. I can't stand fame. I'm undeserving of it. I did my task as appointed by the Goddesses and that's all. Her Majesty sent me back in time to 'recover' my lost childhood, and Navi left me. I don't know why. I went in search of her, and ended up here, as I have said before. I'm nothing but the plaything of the Goddesses. I was twice-chosen to be a savior. By Hyrule and Termina both, though only one could claim me." He shook his head. "I guess that's Termina, now. It was as if all the work I had done to save Hyrule didn't even happen. The first thing I did was go to Princess Zelda, telling her the same story you're hearing now and left to find my fairy again. Zelda took away everything; all my experiences, all my friends. I did it all for nothing. Even if I were back home, it wouldn't be home. Seven years have passed. The people I knew once wouldn't know me. The people I knew in the future didn't know me."

"So that's how you knew. You grew up, and then became a child again. Seven years gone, either way you look at it," Kafei said. "I always wondered about that. You know what it's like, then. Many people think it would be grand, to de-age. It's caused me nothing but trouble." He scowled.

"I…I just can't imagine," Anju shuddered. "A child, just a child against overwhelming odds. The Goddesses are cruel." She lay Kona down on the bed, walking over to where Link was and grabbing him in tight hug.

Link blushed, not used to physical affection. He felt a strong clap against the top of his shoulder. Kafei's hand was there, lending him silent support. "Don't take my wife away from me now," Kafei joked. Link became even redder.

"Don't tease him, dear," Anju said. "He takes things too seriously."

"Which is exactly why he needs to be teased, right Link?"

Link smiled awkwardly. "I guess so."

With a growl from the wolf, the moment broke. While the adults were focused on the story, Kona had crawled over to the wolf, and was in the process of climbing on top of its back.

"Kona! Get away from it!" Anju shrieked.

Link tried to rush over to the other side of the room, only to be stopped by a hand from Kafei. "Look," Kafei said. "Look at the wolf. See what it's doing?"

The wolf had, if an animal's expression could be called such, a face of bewilderment and wonder. Far from attacking Kona, he appeared to have settled down. "It's Unca 'Ink!" the child shouted happily. The thought gave Kafei a curious idea. Kona had been acting strange around it, and no wild animal would be that gentle, child or no.

There was a song Link liked to play. It fixed little broken things around the house: dishes, signposts. Link didn't talk about it much. Could it heal other broken things?

"Why don't you play that mysterious healing song of yours? Does it heal wounds?"

Link thought back to Pamela's father. "Can't hurt to try." He said quietly. "It usually only works on the dead…" He trailed off.

Anju and Kafei gave a collective shudder. Link had so many strange talents. Although they knew now where some of them had come from, they were still unsettling.

Kona lay on top of the wolf's back, cuddled up into his downy pelt. Link walked closer to the wolf, where it tried to start, but glanced up and settled down as if acknowledging Kona's quiet "No, Unca 'Ink." Link did not know whether she was talking to him or her new furry friend. He decided he did not care and pulled out his ocarina.

He began playing a beautiful, ghostly melody. As he played, the wolf's hide began to twist and writhe, dumping Kona softly on the floor. An orange-ish light surrounded the wolf as his dark shape began to flicker and shift into an upright being. As the light began to shine, a blond green-garbed form appeared. The light began to shift as his silhouette, now that of a human, was seen. The shape stumbled, hands instinctively grasping its hurt side. He gasped from the pain. An obsidian stone fell to the floor, halfway underneath the bed, unnoticed by all.

Almost identical, the two blond-haired, blue-eyed men looked at one another with something akin to fascination.

"Well, that was unexpected," Kafei said blithely. Both Links looked at him with consternation.