CHAPTER TWO

As Link sat at the edge of the vast clifftops, his mind racing through of all that was, that is, and what might once have been, his vision started to bkut.An unshed tear welled up inside, threatening to spill over and ignite his soul. But he refused to let it, not because he was too proud or too brave, but because he didn't want anyone to know his weakness. Heroes did not cry.

He raised his hands upward and buried his face in his palm, then slowly drew his fingertips down his cheeks. 'I don't know,' he exhaled, biting his bottom lip and clenching his teeth. Blinking sharply he flicked his head back, forcing another tear in back place. He swallowed hard. 'I just can't find my place. I can't seem to fit in with anyone here.'

Epona listened quietly.

The piercing screech of an eagle shattered the stillness, its shrill echoes bouncing off the rugged canyon walls like a tumultuous wave crashing upon the shore. Link looked up, seeing a pair of eagles soaring overhead, whirling and swirling on the thermals with their youngster. As he marvelled at the sight, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. It seemed everyone had a family here. Except him.

* * *

A bobokin rider watched on silently in the distance. Hearing the loud screech of the eagle and knew that his presence had been revealed. Swirling his spear with practiced ease, he returned to the cover of the ancient woodlands. The time grew near.

* * *.

Link found himself wiping a tear that escaped from his eye. He growled quietly at himself. Snap out of it he hissed giving himself a kick. But he could not escape the thoughts that churned away inside. Everyone else seemed to belong, to have their own circles and communities. Link, had nothing. His whole life had been swiped from under him the day they left him in the Shrine. And now he was alone. He couldn't remember the friends or family or the place he could truly call home. He had no gleeful childhood, no groups of friends, no memories of growing up, playing games, making bonds to last lifetime. All he knew was that everyone was gone, and their absence weighed heavily on him. A painful lump swelled in his throat.

He swallowed hard, somehow struggling to find his words. He did not open up often. He did not know how. The lower edge of his lips quivered.

'I want my old life back,' he whispered. 'I don't know what it was but I want it. I want it more than anything. I want my old friends, my old family. I can't even remember who they were. What they did, what they looked like, the sound of their voice on a warm summers day.' He took a long pause, gathering his thoughts that clambered through his mind. He frowned sharply. 'I remember none of it: His frown deepened further. Taking a breath and swallowing back the tears in his throat, he growled quietly. 'All I know is that I miss them and I want them back.:

Epona still stood quietly, occasionally flicking her tail and rhythmically chomped on a clump of grass. Taking heed as he sat and bared out his soul, she did not interrupt his soliloquy or offer any platitudes, but instead just listened. It was as though knew that sometimes all a person needed was someone to bear witness to their pain, without judgment or interference. Her ears pricked forward at the sound of his voice.

Link's furious gaze flashed, his eyes widening as he spoke in a tone that was a little louder than before. 'After everything that's happened," he snapped, his words biting with a ferocity that hinted at an undercurrent of self-blame. 'I couldn't protect them. Maybe...maybe if I had been a better knight in the first place I could have kept them safe.' The growing anguish in his voice was palpable, and he tensed his body so tightly that the muscles stood out in stark relief against his skin.

Grabbing a large stone in his fists he chucked it down into the canyon. 'I'm the fucking Hero,' he snarled, his tone thick with frustration. With a fierce glare, he turned to Epona and flung his hands in the air, gesturing wildly. 'What type of a Hero lets peolple die like that?'

In an instant, his anger erupted like a raging river breaking free from a dam, bursting forth with a deafening roar that echoed off the narrow canyon walls. He hurled another rock at the canyon. With it he threw his anger, his sadness, his grief, pelting them at the harsh rocks below. 'A fucking awful one,' he bellowed, the weight of responsibility bearing down on him like a crushing wave. As the chosen Hero, he alone bore the responsibility of protecting the people he loved. And yet, despite his best efforts, he had failed them. 'I should have been better!'

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. But his fury remained, a smouldering flame that refused to be extinguished. Was this all a cruel game orchestrated by the fickle whims of the Goddess? It made no sense. Why ignore Zelda's prayers until it was too late? Why bestow her powers only after everyone else had to die? His grip tightened on the rocky ground as he struggled to make sense of it all.

'WHAT ABOUT MY FAMILY!?' he yelled, hurling a flurry of stones as hard as he could into the chasm below. He glared up at the vast open sky. 'You sat there, and you did NOTHING!' The rage within his eyes seared white hot. 'Why did you leave them to DIE?' He took a deep breath, trying to in vein to calm himself. 'DO YOU HEAR ME NOW?' he yelled at the top of his voice, thinking if he shouted loud enough the Goddess would hear him. 'You ignored her prayers and ABANDONED US ALL,' he yelled.

His shouts echoed through the barren landscape. The anger burned within him, fuelling his blinding him to everything else. How could everything have gone so wrong before? Why did he have to bear this burden alone? 'You are NOT MY GODDESS,' he yelled, hurling a rock toward the heavens.

But as the stone arched through the air and landed with a thud, something inside him crumbled. His fury gave way to sadness, overwhelming him with a sense of loss and isolation. 'You are not my Goddess,' he whispered. And, for a long moment, he sat in silence. It felt like the weight of the world was crushing him, suffocating him with its endless demands and expectations. Would these feelings ever leave him? If not, they would surely destroy him. They were doing so now.

Then Epona nudged him. She lowered her head to rest across his shoulder and chest. Her gentle whickers were like a balm, a soft reminder that he wasn't truly alone. Link smiled briefly. Despite the darkness that threatened to consume him, Epona reminded him that maybe...just maybe...he wasn't completely alone after all.

He turned and leaned into her cheekbones and gently stroked her nose. 'You know,' he said forlornly, after some time. 'I don't even know their names. I don't know where they're buried.'' He paused, deep in thought and trying to make sense of the enormity of his loss. 'I don't even know if they're buried.'

Running his hand down Epona's nose, he sat in silence, staring out into the distance. The weight of their absence pressed down on him like a heavy stone, crushing his spirit with its enormity. It felt like another lifetime, another world, one he could no longer access or understand. One which was no longer his own.

And so he sat quietly, the soft sounds of Epona's breathing his only companion. He knew he should continue on his quest, but the thought of it at this moment was unbearable. Epona snorted and shook her head gently, like she knew he was heading into a deep and dark place.

She gave a gentle nip, then began to rub her ears and forehead against his chest. The bit and bridle to jostle as it chafed across his tunic. A small, involuntary smile touched Link's lips, and he felt warmth start to suffuse him. In that moment, he realised that maybe, just maybe, he would be okay. The loss and the grief would always be there, and perhaps he would never quite fit with the crows, but he had Epona. Stroking her nose gently he held his cheek to hers. He closed his eyes. He ran his hands down her strong and muscular neck, he concentrated on her breathing and only her breathing.

Her warmth enveloped him like a comforting embrace. The two of them had been through so much together. Right from the moment he left the Great Plateau – as he watched her galloping, wild and free and untameable to all. And yet as he approached she came to him, as though she had been waiting for him to be there. Her gentle muzzle against his hand as he reached up to touch her face – he knew at that moment the bond between them was strong. And now it as like she understood him in a way that no one else ever could.

As he rested his head against hers and felt her embrace wash over him, he remembered that he had never truly been alone. Epona's steady heart that kept him going, her unwavering loyalty gave him strength. She was his longest and best friend; his companion and confidant. And as long as he had Epona by his side, he would always have an unbreakable bond, a steadfast companion and a true friend to weather whatever challenges lay ahead.