ESCAPE
It had been almost a week since the uproar on deck that Kin had later come to understand as a Seahat attack. She hoped the swordsman was alright; Kin hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since their first encounter, and she was starting to wonder if he was going to help her at all. Maybe he escaped, she thought. Maybe he's dead. The thought left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Kin had fallen into a daily routine in her small cell: wake at dawn with the changing of the watch, force down a breakfast of maggoty bread and muddy water, fall back to sleep for several hours, then spend the afternoon lost in thought. She mostly thought about Link – about her dream. Occasionally, she even thought about home, though doing so never failed to turn her mood sour. She would never forgive what happened. And even though she might at times admit to herself that she missed the craggily cliffs and wandering mountain paths of the island she was born on, she could never shelf the hurt and anger that still lingered in her heart all these years later. The words that were spoken could never be unsaid; the damage could not be undone.
With a sigh, Kin lay back on the hard bench. "You know, when I left home, I never expected to end up here," she told the growing darkness in her cell. The sun was setting. Another day gone by. She closed her eyes.
"Who are you taking to?" a strange voice asked. "Are you a crazy person?"
Kin jolted upright. Was it her imagination, or was her cell a little bit brighter? She looked around; no one had descended through the hatch. There was nobody else in the brig.
"Great," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. "I've lost my mind." She pondered herself for a moment. "I don't feel any different. Perhaps I've been insane all this time." Laughing nervously, she lay back down.
After a moment, she closed her eyes again.
"Hey! Wake up, crazy bard! We're saving you!" A bright light erupted in front of her face and something landed on her nose.
Kin leapt to her feet, her heart beating wildly. Her eyes flew open, and were immediately blinded.
"Ah!" she yelled, falling backwards onto the bench. Squinting, she focused on trying to keep calm. Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the light.
There, sitting on the bridge of her nose, its wings slowly flapping to keep balance, was a fairy.
"Hi!" the little ball of light said.
Kin's heart was beating too fast to speak. For a moment, it was all she could do to breathe.
"Hi," she eventually replied, at a loss for words. She was starting to develop a headache from crossing her eyes. Kin blinked a few times. It didn't help.
"I'm Navi!" the fairy exclaimed, clearly not worried that she might be heard.
"I'm...Kin."
"Hehe, I know! You're the crazy bard!"
Kin blinked again. "Where...where did you come from? Are you with Link?"
Navi leapt off of Kin's nose and began to zip around the small cell.
"Yup! We're rescuing you! I'm being helpful!"
"Rescuing me?" Kin shook her head. Finally! "How?"
"I'm supposed to stay down here with you and make sure you're ready to go as soon as Link gets here!"
"What's he doing?"
"Dunno!"
"Well that figures," Kin muttered. Her adrenaline was beginning to run. She stood up and started pacing the cell. She had so many questions! How did a fairy end up with Link? Was Navi from Mother Isle? But questions would have to wait until after they escaped. Just focus on one thing at a time.
"How long is he going to be?"
"Dunno!" Navi replied again in a sing-song voice. She was clearly enjoying herself.
Kin forced herself to stop pacing; she needed to conserve her energy. After two weeks of being cooped up without much food, she was feeling awfully weak.
A minute passed, then two.
Slowly – so slowly that by the time Kin noticed, she couldn't remember how long it had been going on – muffled yelling began to drift down from the decks above, followed by a thunderous noise as dozens of feet clomped across the ship.
"What is going on?" Kin whispered to herself. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
Another few minutes passed. The yelling died out slightly for a long while. Then, suddenly, it rose to a fever-pitch. The noise was deafening! Gun shots rang out into the night air. Saltwater and blood splattered the side of the ship as bodies fell overboard and splashed into the Great Sea. Swords clashed. Screams rent the night air.
Kin recoiled when the hatch to the brig was thrown open and a shadowy figure began to descend the uneven wooden stairs. In the darkness, she had no idea who it might be.
Navi, seemingly unconcerned, bounced over to the figure through the bars of the cell, illuminating Link.
"Swordsman!"
"I did it! I made sure she was ready to go, just like you said!" Navi sung proudly.
"Good," Link said, obviously distracted. He glanced behind himself again. Drawing near to Kin's prison, he removed an old iron key from his belt-pouch and unlocked the cell door.
"Damnit," he muttered as the door swung open. "The key broke." He tossed the useless pieces to the ground. They clattered as they bounced along the wooden planks. "You would think they'd be sturdier."
"That was the captain's key!" Kin exclaimed. "How did you–"
"Not now. Come on!" Link cut her off, already headed for the stairs. His sword was drawn. Navi floated around his head for a moment, then darted underneath his hat as he disappeared onto the upper deck.
After a moment, Kin followed.
It was a battlefield. Bodies were strewn about. Some still moaned, clutching at wounds. A mob was could still be seen upon the quarterdeck, near the captain's quarters. Link pressed a finger to his lips, motioning for Kin to remain quiet, and slowly began to make his way toward the rowboat that hung near the starboard railing. Kin followed nervously. What the hell is going on?
As she tip-toed through the darkness, she became aware that the mob near the quarterdeck was chanting. The words were...vulgar. Kin tried to shut her ears to it.
Link reached the rowboat just a few moments before Kin. He quickly untied the rope that held it suspended above the water and, with one hand grasping the rope to keep the dinghy steady, motioned for her to get in.
Heart beating wildly – from excitement almost as much as from fear – Kin slowly leaned over the railing and grasped the rowboat. She tried to ignore the thirty foot drop below her as she carefully rolled into the small craft. It swayed unsettlingly beneath her.
Slowly – ever so slowly – Link began to lower the boat. As it descended, Kin lost sight of the swordsman over the Biri's railing. Seconds seemed like minutes as, inch by inch, the rowboat neared the sea. Twenty feet. Fifteen feet. There was a loud noise from above. The rowboat jerked to a stop. Kin stifled a surprised cry. She didn't dare call out and see what was the matter. Yelling. Swords clashed once. Twice. The dinghy suddenly plunged into the sea as the rope that held it was released. Kin screamed.
"Link?!" she called out, discarding caution in favor of concern. No answer. "Link!"
Without warning, a green blur dove over the railing, followed closely by a bright pinprick of light. Another gunshot rang out as Link flew through the air. Kin could see the spray of blood; it looked like red dust in the lamplight. Even before he slid into the water, Kin had the oars in hand. She rowed toward him as quickly as she was able. Reaching over the side, she grasped the back of his tunic and helped haul him aboard.
Once in the dinghy, Link immediately jumped to the oars and began frantically rowing into the darkness. Navi again hid herself in his hat.
"It's nothing personal, Telun!" a voice called out from the ship. If anymore words were said, Kin couldn't hear them; they were too far away now, and the sea was too loud. In the distance, she thought she could see a fire burning aboard the ship and the silhouette of a figure strung by his neck to the mainmast in the red glow.
Link continued to row furiously for more than an hour. Kin couldn't believe the extent of his stamina. He was still rowing when she fell asleep. The darkness was impenetrable.
Morning came slowly to the trio aboard the small rowboat. Groaning, Kin forced herself awake only once the sun had completely cleared the horizon. For a moment, she didn't know where she was.
"Link!" Her heart leapt in her chest as she leapt to her feet, causing the rowboat to sway dangerously. I saw him get shot! Goddesses!
With a comical snort, Link sat up, yelled, and swung his sword above his head groggily. "I'll shove my sword up your–"
Laughing, Kin dove onto Link and hugged him. Navi, awakened by the commotion, flew happy circles around the duo. "Good morning!" she sung.
"Owww," Link moaned, still half asleep.
"Tch, sorry," Kin muttered, climbing off of him. "Are you alright?"
"I think so," Link replied, stretching. "I'm just a little—" He cried out in pain and clutched his left thigh just above the knee.
"Swordsman!"
Blood seeped out between Link's fingers.
"I got shot," Link muttered between clenched teeth. "Shit."
Kin knelt next to the bench that Link was seated upon. "Here, prop your leg up," she said. He grunted in pain, but complied. Slowly, Kin pried his hands free of his thigh so she could look at the wound.
The bullet had just grazed him, but still a large chunk of skin and muscle was missing from the side of his leg.
"Keep pressure on it," she said, guiding his hands back to the injury. She tried to ignore how the callouses on his fingers felt when they brushed her palm.
Snatching Link's long hat, she dipped it in seawater and wound it tightly around his leg. He hissed when the salty fabric touched the gash.
"The salt helps clean the wound," Kin said, more to herself than him. She hated blood.
"Um..." Navi's voice quivered. "Is Link going to die?"
Link rolled his eyes. He looked different without the green cap. Unruly blonde hair flew out in every direction.
"He'll be fine as long as it doesn't get infected." Kin smiled at the fairy.
"Oh, good!" Navi sang out, her fears instantly relieved.
Kin and Link sat back quietly, pondering their midnight escape, reveling in the silence – the momentary safety. For the first time in almost a month, they were free from worry. Navi bounced around jovially, humming, glad to be free of Link's cap for the first time in just as long.
The Great Sea was calm. It sloshed up slothfully against the hull of the small rowboat. The few cotton clouds in the sky didn't interrupt the warm light of the morning sun. A soft breeze kissed Kin's hair, blowing wisps around her lips. The bard relaxed – totally relaxed – and let out a quiet sigh of harmony.
"So..." Kin began slowly, loath to lose the peaceful moment but too curious to hold her questions any longer, "Was all that uproar last night your doing?" She knew the answer, but asked anyway.
"Aye," Link said. His eyes were closed and his face turned upward in obvious serenity. "I've been breaking ale barrels and setting ghoul rats to the food fer nigh on a week now. Didn't take much talk to set the crew upon the Cap'n like 'twas his doing."
Kin giggled. After two weeks of hiding amongst the pirates, Link had adopted a seaman's accent. She wondered how long it would linger.
"They were stringing Rogir up from the mainmast when I swiped the captain's key and came got you."
"Will they follow us?" Kin asked. Teas didn't seem like a man to let her escape without grudge.
"Don't think so," Link replied. "It was my hope the mutiny would hold his attention for some time. If he aren't dead already."
Kin was impressed – it was a good plan.
"So where are we?" she asked, looking around as if she could discern by sight where upon the Great Sea they sat.
Link was quiet for a moment. "It was not easy to catch a look at the captain's charts, so I aren't totally sure, but I think we're near the Fire Belt."
Kin went silent. The Fire Belt was a series of volcanic islands in the northwestern part of the Great Sea. It was a place she knew well. It was a place to which she had never thought to return.
While she was lost in thought, Link turned to the small fairy. "Navi, I need you to fly as high as you can and try to find us an island."
"Ok!" Navi zipped straight upward. Kin tried to follow the fairy with her eyes, but soon lost sight of the small ball of light.
Link chuckled quietly. "She grows on you," he muttered.
Kin looked at Link. For the first time since learning he was the Hero of Time, she really looked at Link. If she thought back to her childhood, she couldn't quite reconcile the man before her with the legendary figure from her bedtime stories. If she looked deeper though – really looked into his eyes – she could see a fire that set him apart.
He glanced over and met her gaze. "What?"
Kin saw pain in his eyes too. "You. The Hero of Time. It's hard to believe."
Link nodded. "It's even harder for me," he said. "But too much has happened for it not to be true." More quietly he added, "I wish to the Goddesses 'twas not true."
For the first time, Kin felt like she understood Link. So much had been thrust upon him – responsibility, destiny, power. He was a slave to the will of the Goddesses; it was a cruel thing. Few would ever understand: he was a hero not because of his feats of strength or his courage, but because he shouldered this burden when no one else could.
Kin lowered her gaze, humbled, at least for the moment.
"Din's ass, don't get like that," Link said. "Not you too."
Laughing Kin shrugged. "I'm not going to lick your boots, Swordsman." She adopted a serious countenance. "But you're going to make a damn good epic."
Link chuckled, but to Kin's amazement, didn't argue.
Navi suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere. "I flew really high! I could almost touch the clouds! I've never flown that high before," she said excitedly.
"Did you see anything?" Kin asked.
The little fairy nodded with her whole body. "Yup! There's an island really far that way," she said, motioning southeast. "It was almost too far away to see, even from way up there!"
"Sounds like a trip," Link muttered. "We'll have to take shifts at the oars."
Link rowed first – for almost two hours. Kin's arms gave out after thirty minutes. "Don't push yourself too hard, we have a long way to go," Link had said before reclaiming his perch. They kept at it until late in the afternoon, when they broke for the day and shared a meal of stale biscuit and water that Link had stowed away in the rowboat before their escape. The gunshot wound was swollen and red when Kin hazarded removing Link's hat-made-bandage.
The next day was much the same, but with more breaks between shifts at the oars.
"What's the plan?" Kin suddenly asked during one such break. "You still haven't told me."
"Huh?"
"I mean...Vaati." Kin shivered. "What are we going to do?"
Link shrugged. Kin could see, though, that the dismissive gesture hid anxiety. "Find a ship; return to Castle Town; warn Zelda."
"What about the thing Venus mentioned? The Sands of Time?"
Link froze. Kin's stomach dropped; had she said something wrong? "I..." Link began, paused, then continued. "If I had any idea what the Sands of Time were – or even where to start looking – I wouldn't hesitate, but I've never heard of the thing before."
"I have," Kin said simply.
Link nearly capsized the rowboat when he jumped to his feet. "Where?!"
"I've had a lot of free time recently," she said sardonically, thinking back to her weeks in the pirate's brig, "and with the recent...admission...of your identity, I spent much of that time mentally reciting every song, story, and poem I know about the Hero of Time."
The impatient look in Link's eyes cut her story short.
"Anyway, I thought the Sands of Time sounded familiar." Kin took a deep breath before reciting:
"Of sorrow will he be reborn,
Of despair will he prevail
The demon slain, the cycle restored
His loss will mark his tale.
O' rejoice! Nation unawares.
O' lament! Hero of Time.
May he find the melodious tune;
May he find the Sands of Time!"
Link was speechless.
"You should recognize the poem; it's from the Prophecy of Ages," Kin said. "You had me play it for you on the Zephos."
Link nodded. Anger was threatening to well up in him again. Fate, it seemed, controlled him like a puppet on strings. There was no escaping it. "It doesn't really help us though," Link finally said sullenly. "A dead-end clue."
"Indeed," Kin agreed. "The prophecy is only a few hundred years old. No Hero of Time since has fulfilled it – at least not to my knowledge – so we don't have any history that might guide us to the answer."
Link muttered something unintelligible.
"Hmm?" Kin asked absently, lost in thought.
"I did it," Link muttered, this time a little louder. "It's about me."
"What is?" Kin asked, confused.
"The prophecy," Link said slowly, forcing every word out. He closed his eyes. "It's about me. I fulfilled it."
Silence.
For a time, Kin couldn't even hear the waves break upon the dinghy. She didn't feel the rolling of the sea beneath her, or the hot sun upon her cheek.
"H—how?" she finally asked, dumbfounded. "No, you must be mistaken." Kin said before he could respond. "The prophecy tells of the return of Ganon – of war. Nothing like that has happened since before you or I was born." She shook her head.
"And it won't again for another three-thousand." Link's words were nonsensical. Kin buried her head in her hands.
"Kin," Link began. "You know the old stories – about the hero that appeared from the forest and sealed Ganon away for the first time."
Kin nodded.
"In the stories, he used great magic to travel through time and defeat the King of Darkness. That's where the title comes from – The Hero of Time." Link paused for a moment. "Kin...I'm not—I'm not from the Hyrule you know."
Kin's eyes widened. She was beginning to understand. "Where—" she began to ask. Link interjected.
"When." He sighed. "I was born a long, long time from now in a future where magic is dead and monsters are creatures of myth."
Kin didn't say anything – couldn't say anything. Link was silent as well. For many hours, the only sound was the hum of Navi's wings as she floated lazy circles above the boat. Eventually Link returned to the oars and continued to row.
Kin watched him with veiled eyes. She couldn't imagine the lives he had lived or the places he had seen.
"That is a story you will have to tell me someday, Swordsman," Kin finally said.
"Someday, perhaps," Link agreed quietly.