PAIN AND MEMORIES
Morning came slowly.
Link slept fitfully, dreams tormenting him with memories just out of reach, and as the sun began to inch toward the horizon, he rose and left the inn. The predawn air revitalized him as he toured the town's crossing streets, and by the time he had returned to the tavern, he felt well enough to order himself a large tankard of mead. Making sure the raven-haired girl was nowhere to be seen, Link sat in the corner of the chamber and to spent the day lost in his ale, glowering at anyone who looked to disturb him.
As the day passed and evening drew near, townsfolk began to drift again to the tavern, ready for another night of drink and high spirits. Soon the entire chamber was filled with unruly citizens clamoring for entertainment.
"There's no music tonight folks," the bartender said for the fourth time. "Let me get ya' another drink."
Yet even with all the commotion, Link still noticed when the door to the tavern swung open and admitted an unwelcome guest. Shit! Link thought as the messenger he'd passed on the road began to work his way across the floor. I thought I'd left him in Outset. Link's vain attempt to imagine a way out of the situation was, however, interrupted by one of the rowdier townsfolk.
"What about you, eh?" the man said loud enough for the entire tavern to hear. "You're wearin' some strange clothes fellah. How about you get up and do us a jig?"
"Get lost," Link muttered absentmindedly, trying to keep his eye on the messenger.
"What did you say fellah?" the man asked, shoving his finger into Link's chest. "You trying to start somethin'?"
Link ignored the man, searching the room for some means of escape but, whether from his drunken daze or not, none revealed themselves.
"You ignoring me buddy?" his voice had taken on a harsh edge, causing a tense hush to fall on the rest of the tavern. When Link didn't respond, the burly man wrapped a hand in the front of his tunic and lifted Link to his feet. "You're pretty stupid kid. You showin' off for a girl or somethin'?" He laughed loudly for the entire tavern to hear. "She must be quite the little whore, eh?"
An inexplicable fire exploded inside Link's stomach. Yelling in rage, he swung his fist into the side of the villager's head. The hapless man flew sideways, collapsing into the next table over with a crunch. Within seconds the tavern was in an uproar. Half a dozen men threw down their drinks and surrounded Link while the rest moved to the walls and made noise. The townsfolk that attacked were still sober enough to fight together, each taking turns darting forward and throwing a punch or drunken kick. Link put up a heroic fight, but, hampered by drink, soon found himself lying on the dirt outside the tavern with enough bruises to make him wince as he struggled to suck the air back into his lungs.
He lay on the ground for quite some time, eyes closed, enjoying the feel of the cool dirt path against cheek.
"Master Link?" asked a voice from above him somewhere.
"Damn it," Link muttered.
"Sir?"
"Yeah, I'm Link."
"I have a message from the castle sir."
Reaching out, Link snatched the letter from the messenger's hand, not bothering to hide the contempt on his face as he did so. Then, unceremoniously stuffing the letter into his belt pouch, Link rose from the ground and strode off into the darkness.
All of his belongings, including the Master Sword, were still stored away in the room he'd rented at the tavern, but he knew that he wouldn't be welcome again until all the patrons had returned to their homes for the night. Until then he'd have to find a place to wait, and perhaps take a nap.
His wandering feet took him on a tour all around the town, but finally led him back to where Tingle was stabled. After taking a moment to quiet the excited horse, Link crawled into the stall and lay down in a large pile of hay. He thought he heard the crunch of a footstep falling on the thin layer of dry grasses behind him, but when nothing else broke the silence, Link gave the sound up to his imagination and drifted off to sleep.
A few hours later Link crept out of the stables and made his way back toward the inn. The innkeeper ignored him as he walked through the door, continuing to clean the empty common room from the night's activities. As he walked up the stairs to his room, Link heard the tavern door open and close again. Quickening his step in case it was one of the townsfolk from the brawl earlier, he ducked into his small chamber and locked the door behind him. Sinking onto his cot, Link fell again to sleep, resolving to read the letter in the morning.
Half the day passed before Link finally broke the wax seal on the decorative parchment. The royal seal, Link noticed as he opened the letter. From Princess Zelda then. The missive was short and to the point.
Please return to Hyrule Castle as soon as you are able, I have an urgent mission for you across the Great Sea.
Damn that Zelda! Link cursed silently. She summons me like a servant! Scowling, he took another swig of his brandy. There was no use trying to escape the summons now; his responsibilities as the Hero of Time kept him tethered to the castle like a dog on a leash. Once Zelda called, he had no choice but to listen.
Link grunted angrily and set his drink down. No use waiting around, he told himself. Standing up, he tossed a few rupees to the bartender and ascended the stairs to his room. He knew it would take him a few hours to get his things together and buy supplies for the journey, and he wanted to be out of this town before the village men returned to the tavern for the night's drinking.
With Tingle saddled, supplies packed, and Master Sword strapped on his back, Link set out for Hyrule Castle. The steady sway of the horse comforted Link as he passed the last few buildings of the town and opened up his map of the Hylian Province. He was unused to the southern lands, but it seemed that he would be at the castle within a few weeks if he traveled hard.
As he tucked the map back into his saddle bags, he took out the letter from the princess. Resentment burned within him; why had the Goddesses chosen his life to ruin? Nothing had gone right for him since he'd become the Hero of Time. How much more could be taken away from him?
Link crushed the letter in his hand and threw it aside, spitting after it as he rode. This was his lot; there was no changing it now.
Days of travel passed.
Link rode alone, forsaking company, only interacting with other people when he would stop at taverns along the road to drink. Link had always enjoyed solidarity, but there had also been a time, not too many years ago, where the company of another would have caused him happiness. No more though. Now he would rather lose himself in the past, in a time both before and after Hyrule.
The journey itself was monotonous and unexciting. The days were long, the nights were cold, and the only respite Link got was when he would pass through a town and drown himself in ale. He didn't see her again though; it seemed that no amount of drink could make her face reappear.
As the days passed and Castle Town began to draw near, Link fell into a black mood. The castle epitomized all that he hated about the situation he found himself in, and having its tall spires break the horizon put a darkness in his heart that would not fade.
And there was something else too. Unless he wanted to journey several days out of the way, Link would have to ride past the Temple of Time on his way to Castle Town.
Link scowled. The Temple of Time… That place held too many painful memories for him. In fact, he hadn't been back to the temple since…
The Master Sword fell out of his fingers onto the ground, and he dropped to his knees. Leaning back, he gazed helplessly up into Malon's lifeless stone face.
"She wasn't supposed to get hurt," Link muttered. He did not cry, for he had no tears left to shed, but his voice was tinged with misery and regret. Zelda, having regained her posture, glided up behind him and lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Can't you do anything to save her?" Link asked desperately. Zelda shook her head.
"Only the Goddesses have the power to overturn death," she said sadly. "I'm sorry."
Link shook his head violently, clearing it of the memory. "Damn it," he muttered, spurring Tingle on down the sunlit road.The Temple of Time was at least a day away; the sooner he passed it the better.
That night he managed to earn himself a bed at a farmhouse by helping herd in some Ordon goats that had wandered into the woods around the pasture. After corralling the last of the herd into the barn, the farmer led him inside to where a hot dinner was waiting.
"C'mon in boy," the man said when Link lingered at the front door. "We got potatoes waitin'!" As Link sat down, the farmer introduced him to the rest of his family. "This here's my wife, Penitia," he said with a grin. "Best cook outside Hyrule castle. And these," he gestured to his three children with a hearty laugh. "Are troublemakers! I'd warn ya' to steer clear of 'em, but I doubt they'd let ya'."
The food was delicious, and Link wasted no time before diving into the meal. Having spent the last of his money on brandy in the previous town, food had been rather scarce for Link the last few days. He talked little as he gorged himself, and soon grew irritated when the family tried to include him in dinner conversation.
"Where're ya' from Link?"
Link muttered that lived on the road.
"You're a swordsman right? You lookin' for work in the city?"
Link grunted something unintelligible without looking up from his plate.
"You ever been to the castle before, Link?"
Again, he grunted. The rest of the meal went much the same until Link excused himself and left the table. Even with his unresponsive demeanor the children seemed sad to see him go, but the farmer cheerily got up as well and showed him to where there was an extra cot laid out in the storage room upstairs.
"Sorry that I can't offer ya' any better, but I figgur' it's gotta be nicer than sleepin' outside," the man said with a shrug. "Thanks again for all yer help."
Link lay down on the cot as the farmer left, happy to finally be away from all the questions. The man was right, the cot was much more comfortable than sleeping outside, but was it worth it? Link slowly fell asleep, already planning to rise and leave early before the family woke.
That night, Link's dreams were dark. Black fire, everything was burning, everything was burning! He could hear Malon screaming through the flames, but he couldn't see her, couldn't help her. The flames were too hot! She screamed again. Again and again. "Malon!" Link yelled.
A scream.
Link woke with a jolt and jumped off the cot. Someone was screaming downstairs! Quicker than the wind, Link grabbed the Master Sword and leapt down the flight of steps. In a flash, he absorbed the scene before him.
The farmer's wife was cowering in the corner of the room, clutching her children and screaming. The farmer was bent over in front of them, blood flowing down his face, vainly trying to protect them from an armed group of men that had appeared while Link had slept. The farmer looked as if he'd been smashed across the head with something hard, but was otherwise unhurt. Link could see the blackness of night through the broken remains of the door behind the assailants and briefly wondered at the time of night he had awoken to. Each of the four attackers wore a set of spiked helmets and brandished huge wooden clubs, and Link could hear the sounds of at least two more men outside. Bandits, Link thought as he sprung into action.
Yelling to draw their attention away from the farmer's family, Link leapt forward, catching the first man by surprise and mortally slicing him across the side. He fell to the ground with a squeal. Without wasting any time, Link jumped over his body and stabbed the next bandit through the heart as the hapless man spun toward the sound.
As Link slid his blade out of its victim's chest, one of the two remaining men turned and tried to make a run for the door. Without a sound, Link hurled the Master Sword through the air, catching the bandit squarely between the shoulder blades.
Now weaponless, Link turned to face the last of the attackers. The farmer's wife had stopped screaming, and Link could see the family huddled together out of the corner of his eye. Without thinking he sidestepped in front of them, making sure to keep himself between them and last brigand. A few tense second passed before the man squealed loudly and leapt forward. Link lunged up to meet him, spinning under his club and kicking his legs out from beneath him. As the man fell, Link used his momentum to carry himself forward, falling onto the bandit's neck with his elbow and crushing his windpipe.
"Stay here!" Link yelled back at the family as he wrenched his sword free and jumped through the remains of the door. He could vaguely hear the sounds of the two men who had remained outside fleeing through the woods, and he knew that they would be back to trouble the family more unless they were hunted down.
Link whistled once as he sprinted toward the fleeing men, hearing Tingle's satisfying response from the side of the house where he had been tethered. In just moments, the horse was galloping beside Link, its neck held low. Without breaking stride, Link vaulted into the saddle and urged the horse onward into the trees.
The bright moon aided Link's pursuit, and he was soon riding back toward the farmhouse, both targets dispatched.
Link found the family had not moved at all by the time he returned.
"Is it—" the farmer began shakily, not able to finish his question.
"It's safe," Link replied. "I took care of the other two."
The relief was more than apparent on the entire family's faces.
"Penitia, take the kids into the kitchen," the farmer said, regaining his composure much quicker than Link expected. "And could ya' grab a few more lanterns while yer in there?"
His wife nodded and gathered the traumatized youngsters up in her arms. "C'mon," she said sweetly, hushing their tears. "It's alright now."
"This is the first time I've heard tell of trouble like this so close to the castle," the farmer said as his wife returned with the lanterns and started fussing over the wound on his head. "Usually brigands keep away from these parts."
"These weren't bandits," Link said quietly. Shocked at what had appeared under the lantern's light. "Bulblins."
"What?" the farmer exclaimed, shaking off his wife to stand next to Link. "That ain't possible! Bulblins haven't been seen nor heard of since the Gerudo war near a century ago."
Link nodded in agreement, but they couldn't ignore what was lying right in front of them. What Link had mistaken for spiked helmets were actually horns, and the light from the lantern seemed to shy away from the monster's dark green skin. Bluish-red blood was pooling around the bodies, and the stench was much more potent than it should have been so soon after death.
Bulblins were some of the most dangerous monsters in Hyrule. They weren't very strong on their own, but they never traveled alone and were deadly when they fought as a group. But even more frightening was the knowledge that Bulblins couldn't function without some sort of leader. In the past, the appearance of Bulblins almost always foreshadowed some larger evil.
"We need to dump these bodies," Link said, breaking the silence. "Then I'll take first watch while you sleep. Even if there were more around they wouldn't bother you again, but it doesn't hurt to be careful."
"Yer no ordinary swordsman, are ya' boy?" the farmer said suddenly. "The way ya' fought back there – that was somethin' else."
Link was silent.
"Well, I know when to leave a matter be," the farmer continued after a moment, seeing Links discomfort. "But let me be the first to thank ya. There ain't no doubt we'd all be fixin' to meet the Goddesses if you hadn't come along." He clapped a hand on Link's shoulder. "If there's anything ya' need, just let us know."
The horizon was already beginning to brighten by the time they had disposed of the bodies, and before he knew it Link was getting ready to ride out.
"And yer sure there ain't anything else we can give ya'?" the farmer asked for the third time.
Link shook his head. "It's just two days to the castle." He patted the bulge of food in his saddlebag. "This'll be more than enough."
With a nod, Link mounted Tingle and found his way back to the road. The rising sun shone down on him from the right as he rode, casting long shadows onto the wide path. It was still early enough that Link was alone on the road, but he knew that soon he would be surrounded by merchant trains and other travelers making their way to and from Hyrule Castle Town.
Hyrule Castle Town was inaptly named. It was, in reality, an enormous port city miles wide with a bustling economy that centered around the shipping trade with different islands in the Great Sea. In fact, the castle town had the only major seaport for nearly a hundred miles, drawing in thousands of merchants looking to sell their goods overseas.
Link hated the city. Its fast paced lifestyle was too chaotic for his taste. He much preferred the countryside where he was able to roam for days without talking to another soul, where it was almost peaceful.
He sighed as a he sighted a caravan traveling toward him on the road. Even this close to Castle Town, things were too crowded.
The blazing sun had just reached its zenith as the Temple of Time came into sight. Its tall battlements and beautiful stained glass windows stood not twenty yards off the main road, and although most passerby didn't give it a second glance, Link seemed unwillingly drawn to the great oaken doors. He gazed up at the structure, amazed by how the sun could shine so beautifully around a building that had caused him so much pain and misery. Caught in a trance, he found himself leading Tingle toward the grandiose building. Light flooded the clearing, illuminating multicolored flowers carefully planted around the walls and intricate statues of the three Goddesses in the field surrounding the temple.
Link tethered Tingle to a nearby fence and approached the doors. What am I doing? He hesitated, hands on the giant door. Frozen in place, he tried to get his thoughts together. What am I looking for?
With a grunt he heaved the doors open and walked inside.
Nothing had changed since he'd last walked the vast chamber that was the temple. His footsteps fell loudly on the stone floor, echoing around the hall. Link could remember making this same walk before, believing it to be his last in this world.
Link's heart beat loudly in his chest as he entered the Temple of Time. It wasn't from exertion, the grotesque lizard-men outside had been easily killed with a few well-placed arrows, and it wasn't from fear, he had already accepted his fate: that death awaited him in this chamber; it was from something else, something stronger. He stopped just inside the door, assessing what lay before him.
In the center of the chamber stood Ganon, with Shadow Link close behind. They seemed to be waiting for him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure chained to one of the giant pillars that lined the hall. 'Malon,' he breathed, too quietly to be heard by anyone else. Resolve filled him. This was the cost of her freedom.
"You're brave boy, I'll give you that, but you're a fool for coming here." Ganon's voice powerfully filled the chamber. "You can't possibly hope to defeat me without the Master Sword!"
"I'm not here to fight you," Link said calmly. He felt odd inside, almost giddy, excited. This was the end, but he knew that what he was doing was right. This was his chance to be the hero everyone thought he was. Squaring his shoulders, he took several steps forward.
"Link!" Malon screamed. Link forced himself to ignore her.
"I'm here to give myself up," he said.
Malon began to scream at the same time that Ganon began to laugh. Tears threatened to pool in Link's eyes. He knew that by ignoring her he was causing her pain, but he couldn't afford to show any weakness.
"I suppose that in return you expect me to release the girl?" Ganon asked, amusement tingeing his voice.
Link shrugged. "With me dead you'll have no use for her." This was it, if Ganon refused his terms then all hope would be lost. But he would not give up. He would fight to his last breath. He would give everything to save her. Tense seconds passed.
"Fine! I accept your terms!" Ganon roared. Relief flooded through Link as the chains around Malon disappeared.
She called out to him again, making his heart cry out in agony; this would be the last time he ever saw her. Link couldn't help but glance toward her as he walked.
"I'm sorry Mal," was all he could say.
The walk to his death seemed too long.
Yet not long enough.
Link shook himself out of his reverie with a cry of anguish. Clenching his eyes shut, he stumbled backward.
There was nothing here save pain and memories.
Spinning on his heel, he fled back through the doors of the temple, letting the midday sun bath him in warmth. Without a word he mounted Tingle and rode off in the direction of Hyrule Castle. He sat tall, Master Sword strapped to his back, green tunic flapping in the breeze, looking every bit the hero that he claimed to be. But his cheeks glistened in the sun.