Story Title: Our Wind Will Shake the Earth and Stars
Disclaimer: Yea, I still don't own TP. And yet my updates take as long as a new game.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Debbie the Fabulous, mysticalgems, rowen raven, PaintingWithFire, HMP, and Kitade for reviewing.
The entrance to this first location is actually one of the few places that readers can actually visit in TP. Unfortunately, it takes a dragon's strength to open. I apologize for the wait. For some reason the writing for this chapter came out as easily as do-it-yourself dentistry. And then I got a new job and basically life took over and forced me to stop most of my updates. I've been lucky to get out what I have—basically my Shad/Link holiday collection—on time.
I had actually planned on getting through a good portion of the first dungeon and stopping at the final boss but Shad's investigation threw a wrench in that. The few necessary conversations he has does provide some background and progress some small subplots so more than likely the change was for the better anyway.
This is the longest chapter yet. If only I could have halved it, I would have split it. Fact, I felt like I was working on "Snowdrops" again, the chapter was so long. I suppose it's my compromise for such a long wait, although the long wait was in part due to the long chapter…
As always, thanks for reading.
-o-
Chapter Nine: Trespassing Is Frowned Upon In Some Societies So Knock First
-o-
It was very early in the morning and, thanks to a quickly brewed cup of tea, Shad was awake and thinking. The scholar had never once proposed the possibility that he would wind up one day trespassing and sleeping the night away in some Lanayru Province farmer's barn. Waking up quite before dawn among the livestock with a dragon beside him had never been a logical possibility to him but here he was living that exact reality, sitting up on a large mound of hay with his back pressed against a feather-and-scaled Link.
While Shad had not found their sleeping arrangements too comfortable or mild on one's olfactory senses, Link was absolutely at home resting among the farmer's small herd of Ordon goats. As it was, the old dragon-boy was nuzzling a recently born kid, wrapped in a goat blanket but finding much benefit from Link's radiating body heat as well. It was not the only creature lavishing in his constant warmth. The barn cat, having performed its duties or simply desiring a break like all cats did, had also hopped up upon Link's back and hadn't moved since. It was still breathing, Shad noticed, and once in while he could hear it purring.
And Shad supposed he should include himself among the creatures benefiting from Link's body heat. However, it was just for a brief period of time to warm and wake his chilled body, that was all. The cold, after all, had been the very bother that had awakened him.
It would have been wiser to have just rested beside Link all night, true, however Shad had not believed it would have been proper to do so and no doubt Link would have thought it…peculiar of him to do so but he supposed sitting up beside him and momentarily letting his warmth spread across his chilled back would be acceptable. For a little while, at least. It certainly had been and continued to be a welcomed relief.
Despite the exceptional early hour, there was enough tea and warmth inside Shad to rouse his cognitive processes into adequate working order. Luckily, he only had the Singer's message to contemplate and not, say, three or four urgent matters to address. No, he only had a single message of vast importance to decipher, one bearing all the weight and hope of finding one of apparently eight Feathers of Glory he and Link required to restore the Oocca to proper form and memory.
And I possess not the foggiest suspicion of where the first Feather might reside, Shad thought, staring into the last of his tea, now cold. I say, the Singer's message certainly does not seem to offer much in the way of specifics. Meadows green and river's sheen could refer to a vast portion of Hyrule's geography. And there is no telling how long and far we might have to search before we finally pinpoint the location in question.
The scholar considered the rest of the Singer's message, particularly its reference to laying 'between, beyond the green and gold…' however, he doubted no other lines were intended to direct them toward the Feather's location. Little within the message gave Shad much of an indication of where the Feather might be.
I say, the Singer might as well have informed us that the first laid under a rock near a damp spot. Would have been as useful, I do suppose, Shad thought, drinking the remnants of his cold tea, and frowned. The scholar could not decide if it was his frustration sharpening the bitter taste in his mouth or if it was simply the dregs of his tea.
"I do not suppose you possess a suggestion of where the first Feather is located, do you, old boy?" Shad asked and Link shook his head no.
"I cannot say I possess much of an inkling myself," Shad said, his head tilted downward, as he idly tipped his empty teacup around in his hands. "However, I do believe we have a long search before us. While I never expected our endeavor to be anything close to simple, I did possess expectation that we would not be scouring every inch of countryside and from the very first Feather."
Lost in his disparaging thoughts that it might be decades before they obtained all the Feathers and restored the Oocca (and Link, for that matter), Shad had not noticed that the young kid had taken an interest in his presence, or well, if not actually him, then in his clothes. As it was, it had found his short purple jacket interesting enough for an exploratory nibble and then it decided its snout could quite possibly fit inside his pockets and that the best way of measuring that would be to simply stick its snout inside and see. Because if it could fit, then it could give the contents of his pockets a taste too.
So really, the little goat did not care about Shad's presence at all. In fact, it seemed quite annoyed that he was there and that he was quite insistent about not allowing it to rummage about his person.
"Excuse me, however that is not where your mother's milk can be acquired," Shad said, trying his best to push aside or at least manage to hold the young goat away from him. "Kindly desist your rooting about my pockets and instead proceed upon a search to locate her."
But the kid would have none of that. No, it was ready to continue with the presumed wrestling game it was having with Shad, a game the scholar did not wish to have with the little blue Ordon goat and tried many times to no avail to persuade it that he was not playing with it and to cease its vigorous antics immediately. At least Link was finding amusement throughout his ordeal and smiled as Shad struggled to hold back the rearing goat and argued with it to settle down as the goat bleated back at him as if it was a tantruming child screaming no.
If there was anything proven to Shad without a shadow of a doubt at that moment, it was that he was not a goatherder at heart or mind or body or in spirit or blood and that devoting his life to the husbandry of livestock was not an occupation he saw himself ever taking a sudden inclination toward. Just as bees did not construct their hives under the ocean, scholars did not belong in barns.
"Stop! I said stop now! I say, I shall retract my previous thoughts admitting that I considered you and the rest of your brethren cute if you do not discontinue your deplorable behavior at this very instant," Shad said, right before the young goat butted him right on the chin.
With a sharp cry in pain as bone struck bone, the scholar fell back, one hand holding his chin and the other instinctively raised to protect his face. He felt Link move beside him and caught a glimpse of him intervening by literally poking his nose into the situation and between them before his attentions demanded he assessed his damages.
Luckily the kid was so recently born that its horns had yet to develop and it really had been a short playful bump. Given that when a young Ordon goat charged, its skull could fracture bone, his chin could have suffered much more than a steady, throbbing pain throughout his lower jaw and an unsightly purple welt. Shad ran his tongue along his teeth and checked for any sudden chips or looseness and thankfully found nothing.
With Link not permitting it to reach him anyway, the young goat decided he would suffice as his new playmate-battering target—Shad was not positive which Link was intended to be. While the spirited little goat bounced around, stomped, and rammed its head against his scales, Link focused more attention on Shad and made a questioning growl.
"I will be all right, old boy. It merely smarts like the dickens," Shad said as he rose back up to sitting. He eyed the little goat as it persisted on with testing the strength of its skull and hooves out on Link's body. "Heavens, never in my life have I met such a belligerent little beast."
And his words, meant merely as a casual comment, unintentionally begat a pearl of wisdom.
"Is there a river flowing through Ordon Village, old boy?" Shad asked and Link nodded. "Then while I cannot say with any certainty that it is without an absolute doubt the location we seek, I do believe it would be prudent of us that we first search your homelands for the first Feather. It does meet the message's specifications, after all."
Shad grabbed his rucksack, put away his teacup in its proper place among his tea supplies, and rummaged about for the last of their red potion and realized he should properly fully stock their medicines if he was going to persist being a lightning rod for physical trauma. Off to the side, he saw and winced at the sight and sound as the young goat banged its head against Link's forehead as he tried to nuzzle it once more and discovered that only a dragon's skull could outmatch a young Ordon goat's skull in strength.
An odd mix of concern for its safety and self-satisfaction for the little beast getting what it deserved rushed through Shad as he watched the stunned kid wobble backwards and fall onto its side. Only momentarily dazed, it soon sat back up and peered about woozily before shaking its head free of its shock and then bleating at Link. With a few comforting licks to its forehead from Link, it soon forgave him.
"I say, did you felt even one of its cuffs?" Shad asked as the kid staggered off and found its mother.
To no actual surprise to the scholar, Link shook his head no.
"Yes, well…" Shad mumbled, sending jolts of pain through his tender jaw, as he slipped on one strap of his rucksack over his shoulder and stood, "…we do not all possess a dragon's hide."
Link alerted him that someone was coming and not long after they heard a man shouting that someone had broken into the barn. Rushing through his checks, Shad swiftly made sure he was not leaving anything behind and that the Master Sword's bindings were still secure and hurried onto Link's back.
Link rushed through the open barn doors and past an absolutely shocked farmer as he gawked at the sight of his unexpected barn guests taking flight. Shad hoped he would not think it discourteous of them for trespassing and, just in case, he had left a few rupees in payment for their board behind.
-o-
After flying what seemed twice the time it really had been, stopping only once outside a small town to procure medicines, a quick breakfast, and a few provisions, at last Shad and Link had reached the outskirts of Ordon Province and prepared to descend. The scholar had to admit that, while Link's determination and sense of urgency was admirable, soaring from destination to destination with little to no pause was torturous on his back and legs. More often than not, landing brought forth joy simply at the prospect of being able to stretch and walk about.
It was the middle of the afternoon and by Shad's speculations and Link's estimation, they still had a two-hour trek through the woods before they reached Ordon Village. Even with Shad there to explain matters, it seemed wiser to keep Link out of view—after all, Link's new form incited fear and panic whether he was trying to or not and the scholar was uncertain if their story would be believed once they calmed the villagers' screams low enough for their story to be first heard.
Of how they planned on searching the village, Shad did not know. He supposed nightfall would be the best time but eagerness and intellectual curiosity rested on his shoulders like two tiny poe imps whispering in his ear, urging and prodding him to go onward. Truthfully, his eagerness and curiosity were hardly conspiring devils and were more like like-minded supporters ever chipper as lark to insist the scholar proceed with their potential leads posthaste.
He had his doubts about Ordon Village too, however. He tried to counter his doubts with his father's teachings to remain optimistic and never dismiss any lead no matter how arbitrary or unlikely to garner results it was but his mother's influence persisted in reminding him that the entirety of Ordon was backwoods and was not even a part of Hyrule proper at all so why trifle his time there? Granted he knew little of the village or of Ordon Province as a whole but of what he knew from Rusl and Link's accounts, there did not seem much in the way of prospects awaiting them.
Nonetheless, it is a lead, the best and only we possess, so it must be pursued, Shad lifted and ducked under a low-hanging pine bough as he trailed behind Link. He found it absolutely remarkable to the point of being ridiculous as to how even in his dragon form his footfalls were nearly inaudible. Link could walk through tall grass and barely cause the leaf blades to stir while the slightest step from Shad made the forest bed rustle, snap, and crunch beneath him. He could hear birds fluttering away and caught sight of a red fox family taking shelter in their den.
I am not positive which scared them off, Shad thought as he tried to tiptoe through the thicket of wildflowers and leave with as few fragile blooms crushed as possible, the sight and smell of an unfamiliar glowing beast or the thunder of my leaden footsteps.
Shad was surprised none of the villagers had heard his steps or been alerted by the fleeing fauna by the time he and Link reached close to Ordon Village. Remaining in the bush, they discussed how they would approach their search. From what the scholar could deduce from Link's growls and pantomime and his vague map in the dirt, they were not far from Link's house or the spirit spring.
"I say, there appears to be few points of interest, though I doubt that will promise a swift and simple discovery," Shad said, crouched down and holding his chin as he contemplated the map and all their possibilities. "Might I suggest I take survey and gather all the information I can and then when night falls, you and I can proceed with a more proper and thorough investigation?"
It became quite obvious to Shad after a while with no response and his stare remaining canted to the forest floor that Link was not as keen on his suggestion as he was. Though he could not tell what he was thinking and he could not ask him, Shad surmised a few guesses as the reason behind Link's sudden unenthusiasm.
"This is your hometown, I know," Shad said, laying a hand on Link's forehead, "and I realize it must be difficult to be forced to hide from one's loved ones. However, do you believe with absolute certainty that they would react only positively to your presence in your present state?"
Knowing the answer and disliking it, even if it was sensible and for the best, Link made a deep rumble in his throat that Shad supposed it meant that he reluctantly agreed with him. Link turned away and walked over to an expansive, tangled canopy of kudzu and slipped under it. With some rustling and reposition, Link was soon curled up beneath its shelter and shade.
"Be patient, old boy, and I promise you I will not tarry," Shad said. "I will be swift in my return and I say, when I do, I will possess greater acuity of our present situation. In the meantime, do keep out of sight and take care."
If there were any means of letting Link accompanying him, Shad would have gladly had him join him. There was an uneasiness in Shad's stomach as he headed off toward the village by himself. He reminded himself that the benefits of having Link accompany him would not outweigh the risks of his presence in the eyes of his friends and family and so his guilt was not justified.
It is necessary and I am not leaving him for long, Shad told himself. He will be fine. We will be fine.
Although the people of Castle Town consistently described Ordon Province as comprising of woodlands and farmland, the land had just as many hills as it did trees. The village was also safely enclosed in higher hills rising into mountains. While the earth was very rich, the land itself was rough. There were not many villages throughout the province. Travelers were more likely to pass by a single house, maybe a cluster of houses built by a family, than find a true village.
Shad slid down from the shortest hill he could locate into a patch of dry grass and soon found himself in front of Link's home. While momentarily surprised, it soon was no surprise at all and soon made perfect logic to Shad that Link would reside in a tree.
"I say, the old boy does appear to share housing preference with the much fabled Hero of Time, as he also does with squirrels," Shad murmured, though he had to admit that Link's home did appear to have excellent and stable construction. "Or is it a prerequisite of Heroes to make lodging in trees?"
While he highly doubted Link's home would provide a wealth of information concerning the location of the first Feather, Shad decided it would be best if he left no proverbial stone unturned. So in the pursuit of academic exploration, Shad headed up the ladder. Fully aware Link was not home but unable to allow himself to break from proper decorum, Shad knocked on his door. And when he was absolutely sure that no one was coming to answer him, he checked the doorknob. Much to his surprise, it was unlocked.
"Hello? Is someone here? I say, if there is, I know you are not the residential owner," Shad said, peeking his head through the doorway. "Even so, pardon me for not waiting to be invited inside, however the door was open."
It soon became apparent to Shad that there was no one inside Link's house.
Link's house, while hardly grand, was actually more spacious than Shad had surmised from the outside. It was also tidier and more organized than he had expected, though a few things, mostly farming equipment, did seem laid out here and there for his convenience. It was rather dark inside, with only a few rays of sunlight pouring in from a square roof portal. Definitely could have used a bit more lighting. The cooking fire was unlit and there were signs of recent dusting and cleaning. The place certainly smelled clean. Actually, it smelled of rain and wood and hay and of sweet tree sap that was not all that strong or unpleasant.
A little deficient in furnishings, I do suppose, Shad thought as he stepped about and peered up at the ladders leading to additional platforms, but full of rustic, homemade charm nonetheless.
His task at hand of gathering information was set aside and once in while he had to remind himself of why he was here in the first place as he looked around and admired the various keepsakes and trinkets Link kept out. There were pictures of his friends, of his horse, of Colin and the other Ordon children and there were drawings made by the kids and intricate woodcarvings of hawks, goats, and wolves.
I do believe I comprehend better his reluctance to remain hidden, Shad picked up an ornamental iron horseshoe and admired it. It possessed all the telltale indications of being Rusl's craftsmanship. I say, there is great love between him and the village. He is a son of Ordon.
A familiar shape on a low shelf caught his eye as he returned the horseshoe to its former place. The shape was, in fact, books sitting on the shelf. Yet again reminded of the task he had set out to complete, Shad hurried over to obtain what possible knowledge he could from Link's meager library.
While pitiful in comparison to Shad's collection, there were certainly more books than his mother would have expected any Ordon-born to possess. Some books, like on goat husbandry, the flora and fauna of Hyrule, and herbal remedies, Shad quite expected to see. The books on sewing and astronomy he did not.
Though he worried it would be improper of him to do so, Shad could not resist reorganizing Link's books according to subject and then by alphabetically by titles (normally it would have been by author, however not all the books appeared to have authors). There were cookbooks, survival books, fishing books, and a book of fey tales.
Admittedly my chances of procuring information from Link's personal library were doubtful from the beginning, Shad skimmed through the fey tales for an unfamiliar story—few as there would be—and for any that were particularly relevant to their quest. However, I had hoped there would have been one book detailing Ordon's history and culture.
There was promise in a worn leather book. Shad had laid it aside during his reorganization due to its lack of a title or any sort of formal cover page and had thought little of it afterwards. With a quick once-over, it turned out that the book was not formally printed but was a large journal handwritten with information on Ordon's annual festivities with the quasi-mythical stories behind each day, associated imagery and foods, and scripts for plays.
I say, it does appear that at one point the old boy was cast in a role in a reenactment, Shad was momentarily absorbed in reading the Grain Mother's defense of the Corn Wolf. I find it difficult to imagine him performing and I have my suspicions these plays are not something he participates in with much eagerness. I do believe one day when I am able I will inquire him of his past performances though.
There were harvest festivals and observances of the solstices and equinoxes but nothing out of the ordinary for any calendar celebrations. Shad did at last discover a few holy days particular only to Ordon but uncovered nothing that would imply a Feather resided in the village.
Sliding the book back onto the shelf, Shad sighed. I had my speculations that there would be indications to the Feather's location hidden within the village's history, however it is becoming more plausible that the Feather's presence has been forgotten or in all likelihood predates Ordon's establishment and record.
Still I cannot yet forfeit. Surely there is more written about Ordon's past than just a few plays and what colors are proper to wear on the winter solstice. There are other books in town for me to scour and beyond that there is the oral tradition, our oldest form of record and storytelling. A poor researcher, I may be, however I believe I do not consider myself a scholar in vain.
In hopes of there being more books or something informative downstairs, Shad made his way down the short ladder into Link's cellar. Fumbling in the dark, he found an extra lantern and ignited it. Soon after, he jumped at the sight of his reflection in a framed standing mirror, momentarily mistaking his own image for another person. It was an unusual place to store a mirror, the scholar believed and thought its storage location gave interesting insight as to how much Link valued personal appearance.
Not as much care and cleaning had been given to his cellar recently. White-gray dust floured the potentially nice wooden floors and gathered in the corners and the bottom paneling. Cobwebs curtained the upper corners and tiny black house spiders scurried from his flickering lantern light.
So Shad's prospects of finding anything down here were lower than he had expected. There were just odds and ends stored away. There were bottles and vases, extra plates, farm equipment, an old saddle, boxes and crates of heavy bedding and winter clothes, jars of various canned foods, rolls of parchment—
Ah, now there might be a worthwhile lead, Shad hoped as he stepped onto the bottom shelf, raised his arm toward the parchment and discovered he was just barely out of reach. If only his fingertips could just touch the roll, he could inch it off the shelf...
On the tips of his toes and his arm fully stretched, he had an idea but was not confident as to what the consequences of his idea in action would entail. He thought that if he just made a little hop he could inch the parchment right off the shelf. In fact, he knew it would work, he just did not know how strong Link's shelving was and whether his resulting reverberations would cause any other undesired effects.
Deciding to take chance, Shad hopped up, grabbed hold of the roll, and brought it down. The shelves were sturdy but the scholar was not and as he tried to regain his balance, he quickly grabbed hold of a shelf and knocked one bottle off and sent another rolling vigorously on its side and into an entire row of bottles. Glass tumbled and shattered on the floor, corks thumped and eagerly rolled away from the scene of their liberation, and the foul, musty smell of fermenting fruit and pickling juice quarreled with one another as to which would reach Shad's nose first. As it turned out, the quarrel ended in a tie.
And to make matters worse, the roll of parchment was blank.
Ah, blast it! I knew very well that would happen, Shad pinched his nose shut and surveyed the damages, and my gamble garnered nothing to justify my risk too. I say, so it seems all that I have earned is a mess to clean and a due apology. …I do hope the contents of those bottles were not of significance and will not be costly to replace.
With all the glass carefully swept and tossed, Shad slowly lowered a bucket of soapy water down on a rope and soon accompanied it down the ladder with a mop. Finding no justification as to how he could leave the rest of the floor dirty, he mopped the entire floor, swept out the cobwebs, and wiped off all the dust off the mirror. By the time he was through, the cellar certainly looked a great deal better, though the fermented fruit had left a deep purple stain on the wood. The more Shad frowned at it and pondered as to how to remove it, the more he realized it looked like a large puddle of purple chu jelly.
At least it is nothing more than a stain now, Shad thought as he proceeded up the ladder. I say, I had the devil of a time trying to scrub away all its sticky residue. I know not what mixture of fermented fruits that was, however I wish not—
Shad's thoughts were cut short as he raised his head up to discover a sharp, shiny point of a sword inches away from his face. Eyes wide in fear, he gasped and instinctively raised his arms up in surrender, only to find himself falling away from the ladder, and so he latched back onto the rung for safety. In the flurry of his panic, his eyes finally focused on the wielder of the sword and an entirely different kind of shock fell over him as he realized the arm behind the blade was Rusl.
"Oh, Shad, it's you. Sorry about that," he said with good humor as he put away his sword and offered him his hand instead. "Kids heard a crash in Link's house and ran to me. Never would have guessed I'd find you here. I thought you and Link were off searching some ruins. Are you done so soon?"
"Uh, w-well, n-no…" Shad said, still a bit shaken. "As matters happen to be, our exploration seems to have barely begun."
Shad saw the swordsman's eyes widen in surprise at the news. So it seemed he had not expected Link's discovery to yield much in return, which did not surprise Shad. Rusl had always offered his encouragement and well wishes towards his research but the scholar recognized in the manner he smiled and in his tone that he did not actually believe his research would ever yield fruition. It was the common response of all his friends toward his research but Shad surmised it was a grade above outright disbelief and disparaging mockery.
"That is wonderful to hear," Rusl said quickly, having been taken off guard. "Link's discovery must have been something indeed. If I may, could I speak with Link a moment—"
"Actually, sir, he is not in town." And then it was Shad's turn to react quickly and respond appropriately. Even as he spoke, he prayed the lie worked. "He thought it best if he rode to Castle Town while I gathered the provisions and supplies he requested from his home."
Shad watched as the swordsman's jovial smile and stare fell and his eyes hardened. "I see…" he said, looking away. "The stubborn boy… He still can't face her."
"Her? Are you referring to Miss Ilia, sir?" Shad asked and Rusl nodded. "Pardon me if I am intruding, however has there been some discord between the two?"
"That is…one way of putting it," Rusl said.
Shad watched as Rusl hesitated to speak more and paced about the central room. Combing a few stray blond hairs away from his eyes, he sighed and eventually paused by the cutting board, a chopping knife wedged into it. The scholar was not certain what was the meaning for all of Rusl's reluctance to speak but it was clear to him that things had not been entirely joyous and peaceful since Link's return. Perhaps he was weighing and considering informing Shad at all of the peculiar matters going on within the village.
But, at last, so it seemed, Rusl had decided he should know after all.
Rusl stared down at the knife wedged in the cutting board. "Coming home has not been easy for Link. He has not learned how to set aside his weapons, so to speak. For months now, he has been sensing danger. Danger that does not exist. We have all tried to calm him and convince him that the darkness has passed but he remains restless, seeking to rid Hyrule of this coming danger."
Shad recalled the night the Group met to disband and the eagerness, no, urgency Link had displayed as he questioned the Group in search of potential danger. The scholar had no doubt what he had sought more that night was validity.
"He refuses to listen to anyone and of lately has regressed to snapping immediately at anyone who tries to convince him otherwise. He and Ilia have had quite a few disputes. She is only worried for him. We all are. Since all his talk of danger, he spends more and more time alone. Easier to keep from fighting with someone if there's no one to fight with, I suppose," he said and then turned away from the knife and looked directly at Shad and asked with a measure of concern in his voice, "How has he been? Have you noticed anything peculiar about him? Has he said anything?"
"No, he has not said anything to me and nothing concerning his behavior has struck me as particularly odd," Shad replied. "Fact is he has been in quite good spirits. One might even say he has been positively glowing of lately."
"Ah, well, good. It seems like some time away and a little adventure is doing him some good. Good to hear," Rusl said, though from the way he tilted his head to the side and rubbed the side of his neck Shad's report seemed to confuse him rather than eased his worries. "Well, the kids thought there was an intruder but it's clear they were mistaken and I won't keep you any longer. Do me a favor, Shad, and watch over our boy. Tell me if anything ever strikes you as odd or changed about him, okay?"
"Of course, sir, I will," Shad said and followed Rusl as he headed toward the open door. "However, if I may, why is my observation necessary? What is it you suspect may be causing Link distress?"
"Just that it is one thing to serve in Her Majesty's army, it is another to be Her Majesty's army," Rusl said as he turned and climbed down the ladder.
The scholar wanted to contemplate the swordsman's words a little longer but Rusl's haste forced his attention elsewhere.
"Ah, and just a moment, sir," Shad said and Rusl paused in his step and turned a listening ear in the scholar's direction. "If I may inquire, where may I locate and peruse through your village records? I would like to know more about the history and foundation of your village and the province itself."
"Er, well…you'll find our records at our mayor's house," he said, evidently thrown by Shad's sudden interest in Ordon. "But if there's anything you want to know in specific just ask Bo himself."
"Ah, yes, thank you, sir," Shad said, giving a short polite bow, as Rusl headed back down the main dirt road through the village.
After quickly putting away the cleaning supplies where he had found them, Shad left Link's house, locking the door on his way out. Link actually lived just outside of the village proper. The village itself was quaint and rather sparsely populated. Even for being one of the larger villages in the province, there were only six houses and one appeared to suffice as the general store.
I say, there appears to not even be a schoolhouse here, Shad walked across a short bridge, peering over at the waterwheel as he passed by. At the risk of giving the impression of being elitist, I must question how the village functions. By Rusl's accounts, there is a strong sense of community and duty here, it is a place where everyone readily lends a hand to another and provides for one another, and the people are very hardy and self-sufficient.
It is all quite admirable, indubitably, however there is still very little here at all. This environment, while quite lovely and earthy, does not appear to foster much in the respects of…diverse opportunities.
Reaching the mayor's house, Shad paused at the door, uncertain of how to approach making his request or even what was the proper protocol in introducing oneself to a mayor. He wished Rusl had offered to introduce him and he considered finding him and requesting he do so. He felt so nervous meeting Mayor Bo, which was strange since he had been less nervous during his meeting with Queen Zelda. Both were public figures, however Queen Zelda was known and beloved throughout the realm while the mayor of Ordon's renown was known only within the borders of his village. To Shad, he was a stranger and he had always had difficulty speaking to strangers.
Still he had gathered little knowledge so far and the highest likelihood of him doing so required the mayor's resources so Shad took a deep breath, adjusted his bow, raised his head up and knocked on the mayor's door. They were quite solid and thick, he realized, and wondered if he would even be heard without striking the doors with an object of equal density, namely a bat.
"Come on in, Colin," a man's muffled voice called from inside. "I heard ya."
So it seemed his knocks had been audible inside after all. Opening the door, Shad readied himself to immediately apologize for any disturbance and for not necessarily being the person the mayor expected but paused his tongue as he saw what appeared to be Mayor Bo in a pink apron stirring a bubbling pot on the cooking fire.
"Let me guess… You boys were practicing your sumo and Talo and Malo kept winning so you came for advice, eh, boy?"
Shad cleared his throat and said, "Pardon me, sir, but I do believe you have the wrong person."
Eyes wide at the unfamiliar voice, Mayor Bo turned around and saw Shad. He did not seem to know what to make of Shad standing by his front doors. The scholar did not know how common it was for strangers to enter the mayor's house. He hoped he was not being rude or gave the impression he was here to do wrong.
The mayor was a large man, tall and stout. He also appeared to possess two large, protruding tusks that the scholar hoped was some bizarre fashion selection on the mayor's part and were not natural, though if they were they had to be the purely result of the Goddesses' capricious whim or inebriation. Shad found his sight repeatedly fixating on his…facial abnormality, however Shad knew it was improper of him to do so and corrected his behavior once he was aware of himself.
"Ah, good afternoon, sir," Shad said, a bit nervous and with a short polite bow. "Also I hope you do forgive me for appearing at your doorstep uninvited or unannounced and for interrupting your supper preparation."
"Ah, it's no trouble. The pot needs to simmer a while anyway," he said, wiping his hands off on a towel. "Sorry, I mistook you for Rusl's boy. Figured it was him since he's the only one that ever bothers to knock." And then, as they shook hands, Mayor Bo scrunched up his face in deep consideration as he tried and failed to place Shad from memory. "…I've never seen you around here before, have I?"
"No, I am afraid not, sir. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shad and I am an associate of Rusl and Link. I am chiefly a scholar specializing in folklore and history and if I may be permitted, I would like to learn more about your village and start by studying your records."
"Oh, a scholar? We don't get too many of those," Bo said, eyebrows raised. "There's been woodsmen, farmers, peddlers, and travelers and they all get what they need and go but no one has ever stopped and wanted to learn about Ordon. Come to think of it… You're probably the first. No, no, wait, there was that artist years back. Sweet young lady. Painted the loveliest landscapes. Drew these sketches of me as well."
Shad saw the framed sketches of Mayor Bo posing in nothing but his sumo mawashi on the far wall. The sketch itself was not badly drawn, in fact it showed potential and talent, but it did appear to be rough and hastily completed, as if the young lady artist did not find her subject appealing to say the least.
"If I hadn't been grieving my missus's passing, I would've thought of courting the little butterfly…"
Not positive of how to respond properly, if at all, Shad politely remained silent. With the mayor lost between fond reverie, longing, and regret, it didn't matter if he had responded. As the awkwardness grew and the discomfort in his stomach tipped over and fluttered, Shad covered his mouth and cleared his throat in hopes of regaining Mayor Bo's attention.
"Sir, if I may, I would like to have permission to peruse your records, if possible?" Shad asked.
With a moment to shake the fantasy from his mind and rush across the bridge back to reality, Mayor Bo readily agreed. "Sure. Anything you need is right over there."
The scholar had deduced from the moment he entered the mayor's home that the large desk and even larger wooden chair directly across from the kitchen space had to be his office. Nearly hidden behind the chair was a bookshelf lined to every possible inch with books and even a handful of scrolls on a few of the upper shelves.
Excusing himself to begin his work, Shad walked over and sat at the mayor's desk. The chair was, in fact, twice Shad's size. He felt like a little boy, a toddler even, having climbed up into his father's chair again—at least his feet could touch the ground. The chair had looked uncomfortable on Shad's first assessment and indeed, it was. It was no wonder that Mayor Bo was up and about.
"If you like pumpkin, you're welcome to dinner. I know it's still a ways but my soup is an all-day creation. Best in town," Mayor Bo said, smiling with pride as he turned back to his pot and stirred what Shad could now see was a bright orange soup. "It's all there but if you've got any questions, just—"
"GOAT!" a young man shouted in panic from outside. Even through the thick wooden doors, the fellow's voice was clear inside the mayor's home.
Fumbling with the knob at first, at last the fellow opened the door and quickly poked his head in the doorway. He seemed to be anxiously running in place as he spoke as quickly and with little breath to spare, "Sorry, sir, a goat got loose. Could ya…please?"
Shad watched as Mayor Bo bunched his fists at his sides, bared his teeth, and struggled to not explode at the young ranch hand as he repeatedly bowed and apologized for his mistake. It was obvious he wanted to yell but held himself back for some reason—Shad supposed it was either due to his presence or the urgency of the matter.
Control managed, Mayor Bo vented a long sigh. "Sure, sure. Go on ahead, do what you can, and I'll be behind you," he ordered and the young man rushed off in pursuit. "That boy, I swear… I wish Link would see there ain't any danger and come home. I'm gettin' too old for wranglin'. Goddesses, if he don't settle down, I'll have to wait 'til Colin's old enough to get a good hand."
Let us hope Link may return before that, Shad stopped himself from saying aloud and swallowed his air.
Asking Shad to make sure his soup did not boil over while he was gone, Mayor Bo tossed his apron onto his table and hurried after his ranch hand. The scholar did not mind and, in fact, he preferred the solitude. So far, Mayor Bo had not asked too much about why he wished to learn more about Ordon and he did not want to raise the mayor's curiosity and force Shad to lie to him, especially after he had been so kind and welcoming to him.
Almost all the books were handwritten and hand-bound journals. There were law books, books recording births, marriages, and deaths, dates of bizarre natural occurrences and massive storms, annual crop quantities, and even a record of the largest pumpkin ever grown, the fattest goat, and a list of victors of a semi-annual pumpkin soup cooking and competitive eating contest. Bo may have won Best Taste but Link was the undisputed champion of soup consumption—there was a note under his inhuman, impossible yet real record of six gallons that he could have ate more if they had not ran out of soup to continue the competition, which by then didn't have any other competitors and was simply the curious villagers' search for the bottom of Link's stomach.
Out of the four filled shelves, there were far more books written by Bo on the art of sumo than on the history of Ordon Village or its province. So far, Shad had found few books centered on Ordon's history and even less in the way of potential leads. Very little seemed to be written on the founding of the village but Shad was just starting a promising chapter when he heard footsteps tapping down the curving set of stairs ending by the front door. In a blue dress patterned with white peony blossoms and serpentine vines, Ilia made her way down the steps.
"Pa, I'm going to the spring—" she called and then she caught sight of Shad and was quite clearly taken aback by his unexpected visit. "Oh hello… We've met before, have we? In Kakariko? Your name's Shad, right?" She did not appear particularly positive that her memory was accurate.
"You are correct on all counts, Miss Ilia," Shad said, smiling as he rose from her father's chair and offered her a quick, polite bow in greeting. "A pleasure it is to meet you once more."
"The same," Ilia said with little feeling and gave him an obligatory smile that swiftly faded as she approached him.
Taking a seat once more, Shad noticed she was holding a simple row of panpipes at her side. Overall, she seemed to be behaving a bit distant toward him and the scholar could not pinpoint a reason why—their brief time and even fewer words to one another in Kakariko had never been anything but warm and cordial.
What he had mistaken as a distant demeanor at first, Shad soon reassessed was, in fact, uncertainty. More than once, she began to speak and then promptly decided against the idea. Shad waited as she composed her thoughts.
Peering away from him, she gently swayed from side to side in nervousness and managed in time to partially ask, "Uh…is Link, umm, is he…"
"Afraid not," Shad said and, not knowing how to continue, left it at that.
"Oh…" she said as she stared down into the floor. "Rusl said something about him helping you with your studies… You're still doing that, right?"
"Indeed we are," Shad replied. "Fact is we will be heading off to pursue a lead just as soon as we have gathered a few necessities."
"So you'll be gone a while…" It seemed to Shad that a hard edge was creeping into her tone.
"More likely than not, we shall."
"And he has no plans of coming into town and telling us?" she said, tightly clutching her panpipes in one hand and curling her other into a fist, as she closed her eyes and her frown grew pinched. "Does he think now that he's a Hero that he can do whatever he wants and he doesn't have to say goodbye? He doesn't think we won't worry about him?"
"Miss Ilia, if I may say," Shad said and, sensing and hearing the rising tension in her voice, raised his hands in a please-settle-down gesture. "I assure you that if Link were able to show himself in town and speak to you that he would rush to you without delay. However, circumstances have forced him to remain elsewhere for the time being."
"Circumstances? What kind of 'circumstances'?" The scholar flinched as she fixed her sharpened stare on him. "I bet he's still sore and he doesn't want to show up, is that it? Our brave Hero is a sulking, stubborn brat! Fine! Let him be that way." She circled around and stormed off toward the door.
"Now, now, wait, Miss Ilia, it is not like that at all!" he said, rising from the mayor's chair and scrambling to get around his desk and reach her. He hoped she would stay and listen. He was not positive he could keep up with her if she bolted off in anger. To his gratitude, Ilia paused and turned toward him.
This is a fine kettle I find myself in, Shad groaned to himself. He felt flutters of anxiety in his chest and his stomach felt so knotted he swore it was braided. How I have become a contributor in their quarrels or, if nothing else, been forced to mediate between them, I do not know. However, it is clear I have provided brush to their fires. That, I cannot permit.
The scholar tried to approach Ilia with absolute calm. He tried not to tremble and show how anxious he was. He hoped his smile did not seem forced and was reassuring and that he did not stutter through his words. All in all, he really hoped he simply did not wind up incensing Ilia further.
One last calming breath to soothe his own nerves, he said in an even tone, "Now, Miss Ilia, whatever sort of quarrel the pair of you have had, I assure you he has put aside and were he able to do so, he would inform you of that himself but not without first embracing you warmly and with much delight to be in your presence. However, as matters are and will be for quite some time, he cannot. His absence is not intended to be a personal affront toward you or is in continuation of your recent rows but has been forced upon him by circumstances outside and beyond our physical, mortal realm."
Concern blended into her anger. Her mixed expression made her appear more confused than anything else. "He's all right, is he? He isn't hurt?"
"No—"
"Then why wouldn't he come home?" Ilia said, raising her voice. "What's keeping him? He ever find his supposed 'danger'?"
Shad resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. He felt a stress headache blossom on his right side but he resisted massaging his temple as well. This was truly a fine kettle he was in and indeed he felt as if the water inside the kettle was beginning to boil around him. Neither solution placed before him was favorable.
As it was, either he lied to Ilia and risked her discovering later on that he had been untruthful and most likely increase her and Link's quarrels in the future or he could tell her the truth and risk the news of Link's metamorphism spreading and force undue worry on the poor girl. It was not exactly his place to give up Link's secret either, now that he considered it, and he had his doubts whether the old boy would have wanted Ilia to know of his newfound form.
At long last, he decided to be honest. After all, he couldn't fabricate a reasonable lie he thought Ilia would believe quickly enough.
"Miss Ilia, if you swear to speak not to anyone of what I say next, I will explain as best I can," he said, stepping closer toward her and lowering his voice. "Do you swear?"
A bit puzzled by his sudden seriousness, Ilia nonetheless nodded.
Shad noted the door was locked and all windows around them were closed. At least, his news would most likely remain shared between them. Still worrying his news would travel, he leaned close to her and spoke at a whisper. "There is a curse upon him," he explained, "that has altered his appearance to that of a beast. His presence would neither be recognizable nor welcomed within the village so for now he remains hidden. The magic that binds him cannot be undone by either Her Majesty or by his Master Sword. We seek to restore him, though we do not know when he shall be Hylian once more. Far as matters have been, it may be quite some time."
As he pulled away from her, he watched the weight of his message sink in. Shock and disbelief at the news of Link's fate quickly shifted into sadness. A hand resting on her heart, Ilia stared inattentively downward, her thoughts holding her focus elsewhere.
"I can't see him," she at long last said. "…Not for a while at least."
"It would be for the better," Shad said and offered her a brief, soft smile in sympathy, which he doubted she had noticed but he had offered it nonetheless.
"Then when you see him…" she said, turning away from him and toward the front door, pausing as she laid a hand on the doorknob. "Tell him I'm sorry."
"That I will, Miss Ilia."
She pulled the door closed behind her and was gone. Shad was not particularly pleased by the cloud of worry his being truthful had draped over the girl. What little opportunity he had ever been in her presence, he had noted she was a sweet, cheery young lady brimming with hope. She had never showed much concern and had even smiled in the face of never regaining her memory but every time Link had set off from Kakariko, she would wait by a window, her eyes fixed toward the gates.
I recognized the risks of divulging the truth to her. I was aware this might and quite possibly would occur, Shad thought as he sat down at her father's desk once more and returned to his research. And my only means of mending her spirit is to restore Link to proper form and we may only proceed with that after we have collected the eight Feathers.
…And I have yet to prove the existence of one.
-o-
Even after a short nap under the kudzu, Link couldn't stand to wait anymore and crawled out from hiding. If he had to guess, Shad had to have been gone four hours now and he must have not found anything yet or he would have been back by now.
If there was something to find, that is.
Link thought he knew everything there was about his village but he couldn't think of anything that would lead them to the first Feather of Glory. He didn't think Ordon Village was hiding a Feather but it did fit the Singer's message and it wasn't like they had any other clues. It was as good as any other place to check.
Knowing he was safe from most of the villagers, Link padded through the forest, picking up the scent of the trees, the earth, and animals stronger than ever before. There was a deer around the ridge, a lynx had marked a tree, and if he focused hard enough through all the smells around him, he could pick up the scent of honey in a nearby hive. Even being used to the sudden barrage of new sounds and scents from his first change into a wolf, his hearing and nose were now even stronger as a dragon. He was relearning to sort through the noise and focus only what he wanted to and he was getting better at it, even found it fun to find out what everything smelled like.
Shad probably would not have thought it was wise of him and would've told him not to but as soon as he caught the faint shouts of the kids playing, Link hurried toward them. Even with his large size, he could still sneak through the woods without a sound. As long as he didn't crawl too close to where the kids could see his glowing scales, he thought he'd be all right.
Inching his way under the cover of some thick, thorny holly bushes, Link flattened himself against the ground and found a gap he could see the kids playing through. Talo and Colin were chasing a ball while Beth and Malo stood waiting in front of old fishing nets on opposite ends of the clearing they were playing in.
It seemed the kids had made up a new game but it was easy enough to figure out as he watched them play. Talo stole the ball from Colin and headed toward Beth but then Colin took the ball back and ran toward Malo and when Colin was close enough, Malo stepped away and let Colin kick the ball right into the net. Link was pretty sure Malo was not supposed to let Colin score but a point was a point. Beth cheered on and clapped for Colin on the other side.
Soon enough, it was clear Malo wasn't playing the game right.
"Malo, you're supposed to stop him!" Talo shouted at his pudgier younger brother.
Malo rolled his eyes. "Why should I?" he replied dryly. "It's your own fault you lost the ball."
"Well, it's 'cause of you I'm losing!" Talo said, stamping his bare feet in frustration.
Usually Link stepped in at this point and calmed Talo down but this time he couldn't and hoped the kids could settle their own fights this time. Knowing Talo's temper and stubbornness, it probably wasn't likely but he was showing Colin more respect of lately and they were playing more together so maybe he would listen to Colin as well as he used to listen to him.
As Colin opened his mouth to speak, Beth interrupted him. "He's got a point," she said, smiling. "If you didn't lose the ball, we wouldn't be winning." She wrapped her arms around one of Colin's and laid her head on his shoulder.
"It's not that we're winning," Colin said, blushing and looking around nervously. "It's just a game—"
"You're not winning," Talo said, heat rising to his cheeks. "This game is just stupid."
Sliding his deadpan stare over onto his sweaty brother, his clothes, feet, and face all covered in a fine brown layer of dust stirred up from today's play, Malo said, "You're the one that came up with it."
"Yeah? Well, I say it's over!" he said, kicking the ball into the bushes by Link before running off.
Colin called him to come back but Talo ignored him. Link could see the disappointment in the fair boy's face as he failed to calm things down. After their time in Kakariko, Colin had grown a lot braver but he still had trouble speaking up among his friends quick enough sometimes.
"I wonder at the end of their battle if Ganondorf got to throw his sword away and run off crying too?" Malo said. "…But I guess my brother's logic doesn't work for every battle."
"Oh, he's just upset Colin's gotten so strong," Beth said, smiling and batting her eyes up at him. Link noticed she had apparently snuck into her mother's makeup and had put on some sky-colored powder—not that Colin noticed, no matter how much close she leaned toward him and fluttered her eyes at him to try and get him to see.
"Umm…sorry, everyone," Colin said, head bowed in apology, and managed to free his arm away from Beth. "I'm going to go get the ball, okay?"
Seeing that the ball was just inches away from him, Link swiftly flicked the ball with his tail and snuck away. The ball flew up and toward Colin and the shocked boy scrambled to catch it. For a moment, he stared at the ball in his small hands and then looked bewildered out into the bushes. Link knew he was wondering how the ball had tossed itself but it had still been a better idea than letting the bright, observant boy come so close to seeing him. Colin would have noticed him. He would have found him. Link didn't want to scare him. He didn't want to hear and see his little brother in all but blood scream and run from him. It was hard enough to hide away in the bush.
At first, it seemed like Colin was going to let the oddness pass until Link freed himself from a tangle of thorns and made the nearby bushes rustle. Link paused. Colin looked and then waited and then looked again but slowly he stepped away, looking over his shoulder and back into the bushes only once.
"We should… Let's play something else," he said to Beth and Malo. "Want to go catch greengills?"
Malo didn't seem to like the idea (but then again he never seemed up for any idea and basically went along with whatever was going on) and Beth wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I don't have to touch them, do I?"
Malo murmured something that angered Beth but Link was too focused on sneaking away in the opposite direction to listen in much. Sneaking up and watching the kids play had left a bittersweet feeling churning in his stomach—on one hand, he had missed them and he had wanted to see them and he was glad to have seen them. But he also couldn't be seen and hiding only reminded him how he would always have to watch them from afar. He felt both happy and sad, more sad the more he considered and the more distance he put between himself and the kids.
It's not forever, he reminded himself as he climbed up a rocky hillside covered in moss and anchored with giant protruding tree roots. It's only for a while, a few weeks, months, years at most while we find the Feathers, but not forever. I'm only gone now but I'll be back.
He did wonder what the kids might be thinking. It was too soon since he left for the kids to wonder why he wasn't back but in the coming weeks, months, one of them would say something. If Rusl hadn't told them already he was helping Shad with his research, maybe he would tell them then but every day after when he didn't come home, the kids would still wonder why he wasn't back or hadn't sent word with the Postman. The longer he stayed away, the more the kids would figure out something was wrong.
But it won't be that long, Link thought. Shad'll come back and know exactly where the Feather is and we'll be on our way, one Feather down.
Link walked along a grassy ridge and considered on whether or not to return to the kudzu or hide closer to his home and wait for Shad there. He wasn't sure where he would find the scholar first once he was back—after all, the kudzu was where he had left him but he would smell or hear him quicker if he hid near his house. Really, if it wasn't the matter of possibly being caught the closer he came to the village, Link would have waited for him closer to his home.
He was already close to the village as it was. He could pick up faint hints of Bo's pumpkin soup in the breeze. He tided over his stirred hunger with a quail but what he really wanted to munch on was a hot, thick bowl of pumpkin soup. And Bo did make the best pumpkin soup.
As he headed in the direction of the kudzu, deciding it was better for his safety and reminded him less of home, Link heard music. At first, he thought it might have been a traveler passing by but he had heard the song before, just not very often. Sneaking closer, it sounded like Ordona's Hymn, a song played on holy days to honor and pray to the guardian Light Spirit of their province. It was a bright, sprightly, airy melody Bo had once said was supposedly a variation on the Minuet of Forest from the Hero of Time's age, if the legend of the origin of Ordona's Hymn was true.
If someone was playing Ordona's Hymn, then he had to be close to the spirit spring. He knew enough that today wasn't a holy day and while he was curious to know who was praying to Ordona, he wasn't foolish enough to approach the spirit spring.
Until he caught her scent.
Ilia…
The last time he had seen her was before he had left in search of the danger only he had sensed. He had seen her through the latticework frowning and glaring hard down on him after he had told Mayor Bo he was leaving. She had not said goodbye to him. She hadn't said anything to him, then or since nearly a day before. She hadn't really needed to—he knew she didn't believe him and disapproved of him running off on essentially a wild goose chase. Anything she would have said most likely he wouldn't have wanted to hear so he had left, equally upset with her as she was with him and without saying goodbye.
Staring inattentively down into a bed of wild violets, Link found himself swimming in a sea of should-haves. He told himself he should have apologized the night before, that no matter how he felt about her at that moment, that he should have said goodbye. He even went as far back as telling himself he should have never told her about the danger he had sensed and then they wouldn't have started arguing in the first place.
There was plenty he wanted to say to her but couldn't. She couldn't even see him. Weeks and months were going to go by without an apology, without word, leaving her anger and worry to build and build until he at last returned to her and she could finally pour out all her tears of frustration, worry, and happiness, if she had any happiness to see him. Really, after all their arguing and the way he had left without saying goodbye, he wouldn't be surprised if her anger boiled down to resentment by the time he could finally come home and apologize.
He hadn't left on the best terms with her and no doubt his long absence would not help matters.
Link looked back in the direction of the spirit spring. No matter how he twisted his reasoning to convince himself otherwise, it was a bad idea. It very much could be or turn into a trap. He was, after all, planning on drawing close to one of the very Light Spirits that had tried to kill him once before. As Shad had once said, it was a stupid idea to run straight to the very monsters trying to kill him and Link very much was planning to do just that.
But if Ilia was there, he had to see her.
There were cliffs where the water cascaded down into the spring he could climb up and peer down at her from but Link much preferred the camouflage and shade of the trees and shrubs along a shorter but still out of reach ridge. He could still hide himself among the green and keep his distance from her and possibly Ordona.
He hurried to reach her quick enough to catch a glimpse of her but leave before she did. Link had his suspicions that if Ordona was going to attack him, the Light Spirit wouldn't raise a barrier to trap him with Ilia present. She, after all, was an innocent in the matter.
Belly to the ground, Link inched himself up toward the edge of the ridge and saw Ilia ceremoniously dancing, twirling, and kicking up water as she finished out the last of Ordona's Hymn on her panpipes.
One final lax turn, she faced the waterfalls and the smooth stones mysteriously engraved with spirals and serpentine vines and let the last notes hang in the air. Slowly, she lowered her panpipes to her side and stared idly into the flowing water. The fairies that fluttered above the spring had made themselves invisible to her, though Link could see the shimmer of their magic reflected in the rippling water.
Link didn't know what she was praying for or what she was thinking but he could see the sadness and longing in her pleading eyes. Whatever she was praying for, she wanted it very much.
"Whether I'm right or wrong, I don't care. I just want him home," she at last said softly. "Please, Ordona…"
Without thinking, Link stepped forward, realized what he was doing, and stopped himself but not without accidentally breaking apart a chunk of the ridge and sending it splashing into the water. Ilia jumped at the sound and then searched for its cause, almost immediately finding Link between the leaves. Her eyes wide, she gasped in shock.
He knew he should run but he stayed, his eyes locked with hers. He wasn't sure why he had stepped toward her. It was just…in the moment…she had asked for him. Her prayers had been for him. He had wanted to show her he was here.
But he wasn't here. Not truly. He was a beast, a monster. His reflection was the same whether in the water or in her eyes. He was not her Link.
Ilia had yet to move. She stood, mouth open, staring up at him. The tremble was slight but it was there—she was shocked, yes, but she was afraid too. Link had no idea what she might have been thinking but she wasn't running and she wasn't screaming. No doubt, she was lost in fear.
Not waiting for her to come back to her senses, Link inched away. As he disappeared from view, he heard her shout and run, of all places, toward the ridge. He heard the slide of her feet and her strain as she tried to climb up after him. Link wasn't sure why. Ilia was brave but she also knew she couldn't face a dragon. Why on earth was she trying to reach him?
Before he could find out why, he turned and ran.
-o-
Returning to the cover of the kudzu, Link waited for Shad to return. Nearly getting found twice in one day was enough and a third time might result in flaming torches and raised pitchforks, if word hadn't already spread dangerously throughout the village. At least, the kids were all right and Ilia too. She even said she wanted to see him again, which was certainly better than the silence and the fed-up looks she had been giving him. As soon as he was Hylian again, he could apologize and everything would be good between them again.
Now it was just a matter of waiting for Shad to return with knowledge of the Feather's location.
And as the last rays of twilight shone over the hills, the scholar did finally return. Link and the chipmunk he had decided to befriend and not eat had heard his crunching, snapping footsteps coming long before he could see him. The chipmunk ran off seconds after, along with several squawking birds. While silent steps in the woods was something that had to be taught (preferably from a young age), Link still had to wonder if Shad was intentionally letting him and all the other creatures of the forest know exactly where he was at every step. Clearly, the scholar had never hunted for himself on any of his expeditions.
Link crawled out from under the kudzu and sat waiting. Raising a hand in greeting, Shad smiled as he walked toward him. Link had to note that his smile seemed a bit half-hearted and forced and more than once, he seemed to bring his eyes down in embarrassment.
"Ah well, I am positive you are eager to learn of what I have uncovered throughout my absence all afternoon," Shad said, keeping his forced smile and wringing his hands a bit in nervousness, "…and well, the truth of the matter is that I discovered nothing throughout the entirety of my investigation. There is absolutely, positively no reference or slightest indication toward a Feather or a potential location in your village history."
Well, the news wasn't exactly shocking to Link but it was still disappointing to hear.
"However, perhaps we have not exhausted all potential leads," he said quickly, trying to raise both their spirits. "And perhaps with a bit more discussion and deliberation, we will deduce a new location that also suits the Singer's parameters. This is not impossible, old boy. Each of us possesses a sound mind. Surely between you and I, we will produce a viable solution."
They talked and they talked and soon the stars and the moon, another sliver closer to growing full, hung over their heads and only Link's golden glow lit the forest around them and they were still no closer to finding a Feather than they were from the beginning. At last, their only plans were to investigate the village once more, with Link present this time, and hope chance and epiphany were on their side.
Link didn't think they were going to find anything in the village, with or without him, but at least they were going to try and take off at dawn if they found nothing. It wasn't much of a plan but it always better to try and not succeed than to do nothing and fail outright.
Heading toward the village, something was apparently on Shad's mind but the scholar took some time gathering his nerve, figuring out his wording, and clearing his throat before finally touching upon it.
"Now I recognize and acknowledge that this perhaps may not be the appropriate time to inquire on such matters, given your incapability of properly responding," he said, "however if I may, it has come to my attention that you and Ilia been quarreling… Is everything all right?"
Not really wanting to answer him and not able to say all that he would have wanted to, Link gave a vague growl.
"Has it been serious at times?"
He didn't need to growl this time. His eyes canted to the forest floor answered for him.
"Ah, well, I see… Forgive me, I only inquired because she requested that I inform you that she is sorry."
Link looked up at him. She is? He asked with his eyes, smiling as he wagged his tail, sending his tail feathers fluttering.
"And if it will help matters, she quite wished to see you to inform you in person and she was quite disappointed when she learned she could not. She, and Rusl for that matter, think you cannot face her yet. Little do they know it is not for the reason they suspect."
She actually wants to see me, Link thought as he stopped walking and sat back on his hind legs. Again, the bittersweet feeling churned in his stomach. He was happy that Ilia wasn't angry with him, that she would more than likely smile and hug him when she could finally see him. But he wanted to see her now. He wanted their fighting to be over. He whined softly in frustration and impatience.
"Perk up, old boy," Shad said, crouching down beside him and laying on hand on his feathered frill. "The time will come when you and Ilia will have your reunion and I am certain that when you do, whatever strife that has fallen between you will be washed aside in a tide of love and joy. You have been friends too long for either one of you to simply toss aside all that you have shared."
Link smiled and rubbed his cheek against Shad's arm in thanks. It was the best he could do for now, until he regained his ability to speak and properly thank the scholar simply for his way with words at the right time.
It was late into the night and the village was dark, having snuffed out their lanterns for the night. The smell of green wood smoke still lingered in the air. Shad followed Link down the single dirt road running through the village. Link still had no idea where they could search together that Shad had not checked in the day. He wanted to be hopeful but logic told him there was nothing to be found.
Keeping his voice low so not to accidentally wake anyone, Shad said, "Ah, so where shall we—" And then Shad's stomach grumbled and gurgled. "Pardon me. I say, I do believe I should have partaken of the mayor's soup when he offered."
He didn't know where the first Feather was but Link knew where he could find Ordon catfish for the both of them. Stepping off the small wooden pier behind the general store, Link waded slowly into the river, the sounds of his gentle splashes through the water no different from a fish breaking the surface.
He swam out into the pool toward the rock where the monkey had taken Uli's crib. There was a small bit of land outcropping from the stone walls encircling the mouth of the river that Link used to fish from or rested on after a long afternoon swim. Between the rock and this bit of land, the fish, especially Ordon catfish, liked to gather, probably because Link used to throw bits of bread, pumpkin seeds, and fish bait too small to hook.
He had thought his glowing scales would be a problem and scare off the fish but no, they seemed attracted to him. The problem wasn't frightening them. It was getting them away from him long enough to stick his head underwater to grab one of them without that sending the fish scattering.
Walking along the surrounding walls, Link waited and considered his approach. He was standing by a long crack in the stone when he realized he felt something strange. It felt like…a draft. He swore he felt air flowing. He could feel air on his snout. He could blow air between the rock. That was when he realized it wasn't simply a crack in the stone but a gap between two large boulders.
And if there was a gap, there had to be something behind it.
He looked back at Shad, waiting on the pier, made a low rumble in his throat, and flicked his tail out of the water in a come-here gesture. With some slight hesitation toward getting wet, the scholar eventually swam out.
"Yes, old boy?" Shad asked, floating beside him. "Have you discovered something?"
Another low grumble, Link scratched at the stone.
"You mean there is something behind there?" he asked, his eyes bright with anticipation, and Link nodded. "Absolutely wonderful, old boy! …How ever do we enter?"
Link had no idea. If he had his water bombs, maybe that would work but Link had a feeling that even explosives wouldn't bust the rock. After all, one year, a whole crateful worth of fireworks had burst against the same kind of stone and left nothing but singe marks and ash. Didn't even take off a layer of dust.
They could try and break the stone by themselves but Link wasn't sure how helpful he could be in his dragon form and Shad, well… It usually took Bo and Rusl all day to break a pumpkin-sized chunk of this stone into gravel and Link didn't think Shad could lift the pickax over his head, much less hit the stone hard and enough times to crack. This just wasn't his kind of work. This was Link's kind of work.
Breaking the stone by themselves wouldn't work either, he realized. It wasn't exactly a quiet plan. The whole village would be up and looking after the first couple of strikes.
Staring down into the water, Link searched for a new idea.
"There doesn't seem to be any markings or keyhole," Shad said, thinking aloud as he ran his hand up along the relatively smooth wall of stone. "I say, there has to be some sort of switch nearby. After all, if this is potentially a door, it must possess a means of opening and closing."
A switch, yes, there had to be a switch… He knew Shad was right and there had to be a switch but where in a fishing pond would there be a switch? Link had swam the entire river a thousand times before and had never once found anything strange, anything that might be a switch, a key, or would open any rocks at the mouth of the river. There was nothing around them but fish and a giant rock—
A rock, Link now noticed, that happened to have a small piece sticking out at the bottom and looked kind of like the pillars he had pushed to open new rooms and pathways. He even remembered joking with Ilia when they were swimming in the pool as kids that the rock was such a key and they had both swam down and tried to push it open to no success.
Back then, they had just been playing…
Taking a deep breath, Link swam to the bottom of the fishing pond, pressed his forehead against the small piece of rock, and pushed. It did not budge. Link pressed harder. He heard Shad's warped voice calling him through the water but Link kept pushing. He put all his strength, clawed deep into the pond bed and pushed and pushed. Finally, Link heard a click boom under the water and the rock turned. As it clicked once more into place, Link swam up for air and was immediately wrapped up in a hug from Shad.
"You found it, old boy! I know you have!" Shad said, laughing in joy, and then coughed after he swallowed some water.
The stone wall rumbled and shook. The water vibrated and slapped against the rock. Link and Shad (and no doubt the entire village) could feel the tremors as the two quaking stones pulled away and the gap widened before them. Suddenly, the river surged and the current swallowed them and sent them twisting and turning underground.