Chapter 11 - Hidden in the Rubble
The tension across the land had been stifled somewhat after her royal decree, but that that did nothing to help the stress that the princess now felt. As a matter of fact, in many respects, it worsened her anxiety by an immense degree. Zelda was now safe from media bashing, but as a result, the hatred of the kingdom now rested on the man who had saved that same kingdom. Link made the ultimate sacrifice for his Princess and his kingdom, the very same sacrifice that he had already made when he first pursued Ganondorf, and now, he must live as an outcast. And all this came at Zelda's hand.
Zelda stifled another sob as she sat at her desk and looked at herself in the mirror as she began to get ready for bed. She began brushing her hair with a blank stare and silently regretting everything that had transpired. This was her entirely fault after all; her fault for blaming Link, her fault for even falling into the situation in the first place. She had no right to point fingers and deflect the blame, and yet, no one would know except for Link and herself. She silently looked into the eyes of the figure in the mirror and knew that her eyes were equally soulless as the ones that she saw.
But perhaps there was still hope. If this letter was no joke, which Zelda continually thought it was, then today could be a day that she righted her ship and created a new course towards a better Zelda and a better Hyrule. The events of the past cannot be undone but actions in the present can absolutely affect the scenarios of the future. Let nothing stand between the now and the possibilities of tomorrow.
Zelda was stirred from her thoughts by a knock at her bedroom door. "Mistress Zelda, a man just showed up. He claims to want to talk to you. What shall I do?" Said a butler from the other side of the door.
Zelda jumped at the noise. She had been expecting him soon, but not this soon…
"N-no, tell him I'll be right there!" Zelda said quietly, trying as hard as she could to sound dignified when in fact she was finding it hard to contain the joy in her voice.
"Yes, my Princess." Zelda listened as the butler's footsteps echoed down the circular staircase.
Zelda opened up her left hand, revealing the remnants of the letter she had received mere days ago. It was not often that this artifact left her persona, much less her sight, since the day that she had received it, and there was not one moment since she had first read it that she had not thought about it in some way. It was written on the finest paper she had ever seen. And the handwriting was flawless. But that was nothing compared to what it said.
If she could pull every emotion of longing that she had once felt before Aaron left her the first time and put that into words, those words wouldn't even be able to compare with the letter that Aaron sent. His writing was so elegant, so fluent and passionate, it was almost easy to forget about the trauma he had put her through in leaving her. Her mind told her to never trust him again but her heart told her to let him have a second chance. The baby was beginning to take form inside her. She could feel its presence. Perhaps it may get to see its father, after all…
Taking a deep breath, Zelda confidently and deliberately placed the note on her wardrobe and opened her door to the insecurity beyond. The banister led her down the stairs but offered no guidance past that. After weaving through the many rooms and hallways that the castle housed, she found herself in the entrance room. And there he was. In the flesh.
In the waning light of twilight, it presumably would be very difficult to distinguish a man dressed in pure black, but Zelda did so, and furthermore, she could see every crevasse on this man's familiar face.
"Zelda…" He muttered quietly, a genuine smile on his face.
Not a thing had changed. His short, unkempt, black hair stood up in all directions and he made no effort to try to control it. He was cleanly shaven, except for a small, innocent goatee on his chin. Handsome, muscular; a man fit for a princess.
"Aaron…" Zelda mouthed, a tear glittering in her eye. She had been hoping that this day would come since he had first left her.
He made his move. Just as she began to break down, he wrapped his arms around her.
"Shh," He whispered with a small smile. "It's alright, I'm here now."
"Aaron, I've missed you so much…" She whispered into his ear.
"I know, I've missed you, too. I don't ever want to leave you again."
"You hurt me, Aaron. Why'd did you leave me?" She said pitifully. "Am I not good enough for you?"
"No!" He exclaimed. "No, don't even think that Zelda, you are the perfect lady-"
"Then why did you leave me?"
"Zelda, I can't control these things." Aaron said hesitantly. "I want to be able to say that I could have devoted all of my time to you, but I had so much going on…"
"But, then, how can I trust you? What if you just leave me again?" The tears were flowing now. "I can't take that again, Aaron. I just can't."
"It won't, I promise." Finally, he pulled away, but kept a firm grab on each of her shoulders. "I can give you my full devotion. But, to make it happen, I must speak with the Hero."
"The Hero?" Zelda asked, taken aback. "You mean Link?"
"Yeah, do you know where I can find him?"
Zelda stood with her mouth agape for a moment or two. What could he possibly need with Link? "No, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone who knows of his whereabouts, if anyone at all. He offered to take the fall for the little stunt you played with the Princess of Hyrule." She finished tartly.
"Zelda, I know I can never say 'I'm sorry' enough to make it right, but I can make it better! You mean the world to me, Zelda, and I don't want to lose you. Let me talk to Link."
"I told you already, I don't know how to reach him. He comes and goes as he pleases." Then, she added doubtfully, "But I don't think he'll come by anytime soon, with all of Hyrule hating him so much."
"Damn!" Aaron exclaimed. "I really need to find him! Do you have any idea where he might be?"
"Well, he used to live in Ordon but…"
"Oh goddesses..." Aaron replied softly.
"What?" Zelda asked again, stupefied.
"I need to go." Aaron said firmly.
"Wait! Where are you going? Aaron you can't possibly be foolish enough to go looking for him, can you?"
"I need to, Zelda! He is the only one that can help me!" Aaron exclaimed impatiently.
"But…you can't leave me again…"
"Zelda," Aaron said, flashing a bright smile. "I'll be back soon. I promise."
"But…" Zelda muttered quietly, reaching for him as he walked away; and, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.
With that final flash of light, Ganondorf and Nate were gone and all in East Hyrule Field was still once more. Only the occasional gust of wind stirring up loose impediments brought any movement at all to the otherwise stationary scene, and the utter quiet of the outdoors was quite unnerving. And at no point in the past four months did he feel more alone.
With the coming of Nate, it had almost seemed like an untold miracle. Despite all the anxiety he was forced to endure after the first rise of Ganondorf, he still had Nate, and he could not ask for more. But his departure, his betrayal, was a crushing blow to his desperate innocence.
Did he not find something strange with Nate since the day they met? Could he not have left on the day that they met and all this would have been avoided? Of course, but Ganondorf attacked precisely where he was weakest. Link had overlooked Nate because Nate liked the Hero of Twilight, or at least, acted to like him. And the Hero was willing to turn his head to make sure that the two of them were a perfect fit.
But, in the end, it was all just a ploy. A psychological attack when times seemed brightest by the man whose origins lay in darkness.
The question now must be, what can possibly be done after all this?
Prior damage aside, Ganondorf had also left with Link a very viable threat, a threat that could be in either two locations. Of course, this could be a bluff, but Ganondorf wasn't usually one to throw out empty words. And Link definitely wasn't one to stand around while he knew there was a chance that someone who knows and cares for was in danger.
That aside, two scenarios came to mind immediately for Link when he first heard Ganondorf's threat. So was it Hyrule Castle and Zelda? Or was it Ordon and Ilia?
Ganondorf hadn't only left him the threat either. After months since she had locked herself from the lands of Hyrule, Midna had somehow been forced back into the kingdom, with no further explanation from Ganondorf, of course. Not only that, but she was also an imp again.
How was Ganondorf able to accomplish all of this? How the hell was he even alive?
In utter silence, Link carefully climbed out of the crater created by Ganondorf in East Hyrule Field and sat down next to Epona on the hard ground. With a bit of effort, he laid Midna on the ground next to him and wrapped her snuggly in his only blanket. Her tiny body shivered slightly in the cool, dusk air.
Her current predicament only made more questions arise. Her presence meant either that there was another connection between twilight and Hyrule somewhere, or that Ganondorf possessed some supernatural ability that gave him passage where no other man can, perhaps the power being the Triforce. Her state of body only blurred things further. She had regained her true form back when Ganondorf first fell, but Ganondorf is clearly still around. So why hadn't she stayed an imp if Ganondorf never died and the curse was never lifted? Perhaps Ganondorf had lifted the curse himself to throw everyone off.
And finally, if Link couldn't kill Ganondorf with a clean stab to the heart, how in the name of the goddesses can he be killed?
After nearly an hour, Link forced himself to quit thinking about all of these unanswerable questions. There was no possible way for him to explain these things and thinking about them only wasted valuable time. As of now, the only thing that could be done was to look forward.
And the next course of action had to be answering Ganondorf's threat. So, where to next, Hyrule Castle or Ordon?
The walls of Hyrule Castle Town were well within Link's range of sight, even at his great distance from it. And judging by what little section of wall that he could make out, the castle stood unharmed. That observation alone would certainly not be enough to rule out Zelda, but there was something that Castle Town had that Ordon did not that made all the difference; People. Zelda is surrounded by skilled bodyguards, all of whom would be willing to die for her. They have merely a slim chance of stopping the likes of Ganondorf, however. But also, an abduction of Zelda surely would not go unnoticed, and would only bring attention to Ganondorf, something that he seems to want to avoid at this point. Whereas, if Ilia were abducted, only the townsfolk of Ordon would notice. There certainly was no guarantee, but as of now, Ilia seemed to be in much more danger than Zelda.
With the frailty of an aging widow, Link rose with great effort to a standing position. Epona had not made a single move after all that had transpired, and she merely watched her rider as he strapped Midna to her back. Epona, too, seemed out of sorts; missing that lively burst of energy that had come to define her.
Within minutes, Link was ready to start his trek. A heartfelt sorrow still rested in the confines of his soul, but a newfound determination had suddenly appeared in the depths of his heart.
Midna did not make another move for the two days that Link walked. Each of the past two nights, Link had salvaged spare food for her, only to have his hopes squashed under a large weight of realization. Her small, frail body did not even make a twitch when he tried to feed her, even when he practically shoved a spoonful of soup broth down her unyielding mouth.
By day, Link strapped her to Epona's back as carefully as he could. After a day of travel, he would place her comfortably in his tent, so he could pretend it were like old times, even though there was nothing much similar nowadays compared to the times of their first adventure. Her presence does not make much difference if she does not live. And the worst part was he hadn't the slightest idea of how to cure her from this coma she found herself in, if that was even possible.
The sun shone brightly as Link woke up that day. He was now at the entryway into woods surrounding Ordon, not even a day's walk from his destination. A myriad of trees blocked his view of the place he called home, but somehow, something was wrong. He could sense it.
The air was calm enough, and nothing gave the impression of anything out of place. Epona was up and about, and Midna was still in her eternal slumber. Everything was alright, and yet, something was different…out of place.
Never letting down his guard, Link packed up his tent. With all his supplies and Midna strapped to Epona, he began to walk through the woods at a faster pace than he had previously been going. The woods were dark, the paths narrow, but that did nothing to mar the determination of Link's stride. Epona was still shaken, but Link could not be, not with so much at stake.
He was soon upon a clearing, and in the mid-afternoon sun, Coro's hut came into view. Coro was not sitting outside, but that was not anything to worry about. Coro had the reputation of slacking off. The great fairy's pond on the other side of a wide, dark cave was not disturbed. Still nothing to worry about.
With a great anticipation of doom, Link found himself at the wooden bridge to the outskirts of Ordon. Link walked across and saw Ordona's pond a little farther down. It, too, was preserved. Perhaps he had chosen incorrectly…
Even his own house, Link noticed when he got there, was perfectly fine. Something else was not though. The gates to Ordon were on their hinges. One half was shattered and the other half lay discarded on the ground. It was here. He had chosen right.
"Stay here, girl." Link whispered to Epona as he quietly unsheathed his sword. Tiny splinters of charred wood littered the slightly scorched earth surrounding the gate and even faint glints of steam were visible to the very observant eye. The short distance from his house to Ordon village was agonizing, especially when he got a good glimpse at the humble village.
Ordon, as he had left it, lay dead. Not a single building in view was left standing. Walls were damaged, roofs dented, houses scorched. The water wheel floated uselessly in the water below. Burnt grass was left where healthy grass used to be. Life was gone. The destruction was great, but the real pain for Link came in the fact that no one was there.
There was no sign of life about. Link could see Rusl's house was heavily damaged. It was no normal damage either. Most raiders have the mercy to burn the whole building to the ground, but Ganondorf was no normal marauder. He picked his spots, mainly the support beams, and didn't mess with the rest. It stood upright still, slowly collapsing under the pressure of its own weight.
But no house was damaged more than Mayor Bo's. It was the only house that was almost completely razed. All that remained standing were a few of the interior walls. The rest was rubble, and the entire inside was scorched to a grotesque black.
Link almost dropped his sword under the anxiety. Not only was Ilia gone, but so was everyone else. It was recent, too; the soil was soft and the air fresh with burnt wood.
On the verge of tears, Link searched the town for any sign of hope. No one was hiding in the bushes, no clue as to where they were could be seen, no remnant of their very lives were anywhere in sight. The only possible sign of hope lied in the fact that no sign of any dead bodies lied about as well.
It was only when Link searched the very farm he used to work that he found a sign of hope. The farm gates, too, were burned to the ground, and the shack that once held goats was burned, but still standing. There were no signs of the goats that used to live here, but it was inside this shack that Link found life.
"Link!" A young voice exclaimed happily. "You're back! I knew you'd come back!"
Startled, Link looked for the source. Emerging from rubble was Colin, a huge smile on his war-scarred face.
"Oh, goddesses, Colin! What happened to you?" Colin was a mess. A large gash on his left cheek was by far his worst injury. It was several inches long, and it was a wonder that it hadn't cut through to the inside of his mouth. Blood stained his lower jaw and neck, and left arm drooped at his side uselessly, apparently sprained or perhaps broken. His tattered shirt revealed some bruises and cuts on his chest and his whole body was covered in dirt and sweat.
"It was horrible Link, everyone's gone! I'm the only one left…" Colin exasperated, covering his head in his hands as he began to sob violently.
"Sh, Colin," Link said, laying his hands on the young man. "I'm here now. Come on, I'll get you cleaned up, but then I need you to tell me all that you know, can you do that for me?"
Colin sniffled a little, then nodding accordingly.
"Alright, come on; follow me back to my house." Link offered him a hand, which Colin gratefully accepted.
Link led the way back through town and to his house, Colin refusing to let go for fear of what had just happened. And Link, too, did not want to let go. Once back to the house, Link begrudgingly let go to search for his medical supplies he kept on Epona. They were buried amidst everything else he kept on her, but eventually, he found them. He opened the small box and grabbed a few bandages he carried in there. "Alright, Colin, I don't have any potion with me, but this should help protect that gash until we get you some. It's going to feel funny and uncomfortable, but you'd rather that than risking that thing healing up wrong."
Colin sat impatiently as Link began to wrap the bandage around Colin's head. Unfortunately, the only way he could get at it without sacrificing any of Colin's senses was by wrapping it around his head underneath the jaw and on top of the head.
"Alright," Link said when he had finished. "Can you still talk?"
"Yes." Colin said, nodding slowly.
"Not too tight?"
Colin shook his head.
"Alright, I'm afraid that is really all I can do right now. Let's get you cleaned up, and then we'll go to Castle Town. Come on, let's get to the spring."
Link turned to go, but young Colin did not follow. In fear, Colin pointed at Epona and asked, "L-Link, what is that?"
Link followed what Colin was pointed at and, when he realized what it was, cursed under his breath. "Forget about it, Colin." Link said, doing his best to shield Midna from Colin's view. "What's important is that we get you healthy again. I'll explain later, I promise."
Colin continued to look suspiciously around Link at the mysterious black lump on Epona, but he did not question again. Probably because of how exhausted he was, but nevertheless, Link was grateful.
Link grabbed Colin's hand in one hand and Epona's reigns in the other as he began to walk back to the spring. Both followed without question and they were soon upon the spring.
"Colin, I need you to take off your shirt and sit down in the spring." Link said, letting go own Epona's reigns at the entrance of the spring.
Colin did so and Link finally got a good look at Colin's back. It was covered in minor scratches, cuts, and bruises, all of which were also covered in dirt. They were already infected; Link could see that as soon as he laid eyes on them.
"Sorry, Colin, this may hurt a little…" With a little hesitation, Link scooped up some of the spring water in his hands and poured it over the open wounds on Colin's back. Colin gasped as the warm water ran down his back and into the wounds.
"Colin, perhaps to keep your mind off it, could you tell me what happened here?" Link suggested as he ran more water and this time, massaged the wounds with his hands in an attempt to clean them.
Colin sighed as the pain of the water ran through his body. "I-It all happened s-so fast. He came, the man in black…In the middle of the night he came. He lit the night with fire. He brought nothing but destruction."
Colin spoke like a man possessed. His whole body tensed up with each and every word, as if he feared it would happen again if he spoke about it. His eyes faded in and out of focus, and he soon became slightly confused with which reality he was living in, the now or the past.
Nonetheless, after a moment's hesitation, Colin continued, "A cloak clouded his every motion; I never got a good look at him. He never said a single word throughout everything. Even when we began screamed, he remained emotionless. Until he had finished the raid. He then began to laugh for a while. It was like no laugh I have heard before in my life."
"How did he do this?" Link asked, after he let the words sink in.
"I d-don't know. He created fire…out of nothing. He was some kind of mage, father said…"
Link paused. "Why? Why did he do this? What was his motive?"
"I don't know, Link, but it was awful!"
"Who did he go after? Anyone in particular?" Link asked, fearing he knew the answer already.
"Well," Colin sniffled. "He did destroy Mayor Bo's house first… But he looked very angry after he did. I think he may have gone after Ilia. But he was unsuccessful. He did not get her."
"He didn't?" Link gasped. "What? How did she get away."
"Well, she didn't." Colin replied hesitantly. "She was never here. A few days after you left, Bo allowed her to leave the house, and that night, she ran away. Nobody knows where she went."
This all didn't make any sense. Why would Ganondorf taunt that he had her in his possession if he truly did not? What did he stand to gain in doing so? Or did he manage to track down and capture her after the fact? But one thing was clear, and that was that Ganondorf definitely targeted Ilia and not Zelda. Unless, of course, he lied and went after both.
Link quickly disentangled himself from his thoughts and said, "What happened to everyone else? Does he know that you are still here?"
"I don't think so. I was able to hide in the shadows while he went on his rampage. I don't think he ever caught a glimpse of me. And when he was done burning down our village, he brought more light to the night. This brilliant, golden light enveloped him and everyone else, and when it faded, they were gone."
That matched the description alright. "Colin, how long ago was this?"
Colin shrugged innocently. "I don't know, Link…"
"You couldn't give me a guess?"
"I really don't know, Link, but it has to be around three or so days."
"Three days!" Link gasped. "You've been in the farm rubble for three days?"
Colin nodded slowly. "Something like that."
"Alright Colin, I've done all I can do for now." Link sighed while getting up. "Why don't you get yourself dried off and then we'll find you some food. After that, we will head for Castle Town."
Colin followed Link slowly; his head drooped so low that it almost scraped against the ground. "Colin," Link said, placing his hands on Colin's shoulders. Colin looked up with his pitying eyes as Link said, "Did your father say anything to you before…Did you get a chance to talk to him?
Colin shook his head; he was on the verge of losing it. "Colin, Rusl would have wanted his son to be tough, though thick and thin. Can you do that, Colin? Together, we can get your father back, but you need to be tough."
Colin nodded slowly, wiping away at his eyes. "Thanks, Link."
"The man who did this is after me, Colin. He is doing this to try to lure me out." Link then frowned. "And he picked the right bait. But, either way, I will not rest til I bring this man down."
"How do you know this man?"
"He is a man of enormous power. We squared off some time back, and I thought I got the best of him then. But he has come back, and he will look for me. I can almost guarantee you that he will try to find out about you, too. I will not let him find you, alright, Colin? That thing you saw on Epona's back? It, she rather, will protect you as well as me, as soon as I can revive her. Don't think that you are alone now, Colin, because you're not."
"When will we find the others?"
"I don't know Colin, but it'll be as soon as I can make it happen."
At that moment, a strange figure emerged from the nearby woods. He was covered entirely in black and was still under the protection of the tree's shadows. Link could not get a good look at this man's face, but the hair on the back of his neck stood up instantly. With a surprisingly booming voice, the man said, "I think I can help you make it happen sooner."