Chapter 2

From Ordon flies the Raven

After the long walk, he made it to Ordon village. A girl was standing at the entrance. She had very light blond hair that curled at her neck. She saw him and looked curiously at him. He hid behind a tree.

"Who are you? Another robber?" The girl said.

"N-No. My name's Raven. I'm here to help." Raven said to her.

"If that's so, why are you hiding?"

"Yea, why am I hiding? Some hero…" He stepped out from behind the tree. "I was hiding because I thought I'd scare you."

"Takes a lot more to scare me than a weirdo dressed up in a suit of armor. What kind of armor is that anyway? The stomach's exposed." She pointed out. He looked down at his stomach and then looked up.

"Please, just take me to your mayor or your blacksmith. It's about Link." Ilia looked at him suspiciously.

"What about Link? How do you know him?" She questioned the blonde haired man in armor.

"I taught him some sword fighting moves while he was on his quest. I know he's been kidnapped. I want to save him." It was silent for a few minutes until the girl spoke again.

"Ok. I'll take you to my father. He's the Mayor." She said.

"Thank you." The girl, Ilia, led Raven inside of Ordon village. There was no one in sight. It was dismal and quiet. Like a blanket of depression fell over the village. They went to the house at the very edge of the village, near the ranch. She opened the door. Mayor Bo and Rusl were talking about something, but stopped once Ilia and Raven entered.

"Ilia, there you are. Who's this gentleman?" Mayor Bo asked.

"I go by Raven. I came here in request for a sword temporarily. In trade, I'll bring Link home. Then I'll give the sword back." Raven said. Bowing before he spoke.

"You know Link?" Rusl asked.

"He said he trained him during his quest. That's all he told me." Ilia said.

"So, you'll bring Link home if we give you a sword? Alright. Rusl, do you think you can provide him a sword?" Mayor Bo asked.

"I'm afraid we have none that not owned. He can have Link's I guess." Rusl said.

"Are you sure, Rusl?" Mayor Bo asked.

"Very." Rusl stood up. "I'll be back. You wait here." Ilia and Raven moved out of the way so Rusl could leave.

"So, Raven, where do you come from?" Mayor Bo asked.

"I come from very far." He said. Couldn't really say Kokiri Forest…

"How far?"

"I'm not sure how far, but it was pretty far from here. I taught Link some moves that I knew in order to help in his quest to save Hyrule."

"I see. So, you want to go save him, for what reason?"

"He's like a son to me. In the moments I got to know him, our bond started to grow."

"One final question. Why do you look so much like Link?"

"It must be just a coincidence…" His stomach growled.

"You must be hungry. I'll whip up something for you." Ilia said. She went over to the kitchen.

"You don't have to." Raven said.

"It's my way of thanks for willing to save the one whom I consider a brother." Ilia began to make something. It started to smell good when she started to cook it. Rusl walked in.

"Here's the sword. It was taken away from Link when he was kidnapped, but I feel you should use it to save him." Rusl handed the sword to him.

"Thank you. It means a lot." Raven took the sword and put it over his shoulder.

"Go ahead and sit down, Raven. The food will be done in a few seconds."

"Um, ok." He sat down. Ilia put the food on a plate and brought it over. She set it down in front of him. Raven took a bite of his food. Felt so relieved to be eating. Between bites, he said, "It tastes great. Thank you so much."

"Thank you for the complement." Ilia went back to the kitchen to clean. Raven continued eating. Rusl noticed how he ate. He ate with his left hand.

"I see you're left handed too."

"Yep." Raven took another bite of his food. It was the last bite. Ilia came over, took the plate from his hand quickly and walked away. He looked at both his hands. His right had held the plate and the left held the fork, now they weren't there. "That was weird…"

"Haha. He acts childish like Link. I can see how those two got along so well. I know exactly who he is now. The golden wolf." Rusl thought.

"I better be on my way. Thank you so much for everything. I'll be back with Link." Raven stood up.

"Be safe, Raven." Raven nodded. He walked toward the door. Once outside, he walked down the path. A boy ran up to him.

"Dad told me about you. Are you really going to bring Link back home?" It was Colin.

"Yes. Don't worry about it, ok?"

"Can you give something to Link when you see him?" Colin asked.

"What is it?" Colin pulled a necklace off from around his neck.

"This belongs to him. It fell off when he was taken. It plays his horse's song when blown into." He holds it out to him. Raven takes it in hand.

"I'll be sure to get it to him. Thank you." Raven put it around his neck. "I'll bring him back home soon." Raven left the village and walked out into Hyrule field. Raven looked at the horseshoe shaped necklace around his neck. "I wonder…" He blew into it. The familiar sound of Epona's song rang through the air. It filled him with so much nostalgia. Soon, he heard the sound of galloping hooves and Epona came running up to him.

"It worked. Hey Epona." He slowly went up to her. "You recognize me, don't you?" He pet her snout. "I know you aren't the Epona I knew, just as I'm not the Link you know. We'll find him together, right?" She snorted and moved her head. "Let's get to Hyrule Castle." Raven went over to Epona's saddle and got on. "Let's go. Hyaa!" He snapped the reins and Epona started running. It wasn't that long until he made it to the front of Hyrule market. He got off Epona's saddle.

He walked into the market. People looked at him strangely. He felt a bit out of place. He found the entrance to Hyrule Castle. The guards were at attention.

"Halt, who goes there?" They said.

"My name's Raven. I request audience with her Grace immediately. It's about the Hero of Hyrule." The guards calmed down.

"We'll lead you to her." Two of the guards allowed Raven inside. He followed them to Princess Zelda's throne room at the very top of the castle. She had been sitting on her throne, reading a book. "Your highness. This man requested audience with you. He said it was about the Hero of Hyrule." She closed her book and set it aside.

"You are dismissed, soldiers." She said. The guards bowed then left. "You may speak, sir." Raven bowed then stood straight.

"Your highness, I'm not sure if you've received a letter or not, but a group of thieves kidnapped The Hero of Hyrule and are going to hold him for ransom. I ask your permission to seek out Link and bring him back home."

"I see… And what do you want for it." Princess Zelda asked.

"Nothing. Only doing my job as former hero and looking after my descendants."

"You mean… you're the Hero of Time?"

"Yes. The gods granted my wish to have an able body so I could save my grandson." Raven said. Finally telling someone the truth.

"Alright. I give you permission. Though, if you're going to be going to a thief hideout, you'll need proper clothes and equipment."

"Thank you, Princess Zelda." She stood up from her throne.

"Follow me." Raven followed her. They walked through the halls of the castle. "I had dreamt of this day many years ago, where the Hero of Time would return needing assistance. I never thought it would ever become a reality. My grandmother, what was she like?" Raven smiled.

"She was beautiful. He was so sweet. Though nobody would know it, she helped me on my quest, dressing as a Sheikan boy in order to evade Ganon's clutches yet still help me get to where I needed to go. She was very wise. She ought to be though, she was the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom when Ganondorf managed to get his hands on the triforce."

"So, my grandmother cross-dressed?"

"I guess you can put it that way."

"Haha, she must have been crazy."

"She was a bit crazy, but had a heart of gold. I miss her. You seem to be her spitting image." Zelda and Raven made it to the weapons room.

"I had an outfit made for the Hero so he could wear it. It may fit you." Zelda went over to a storage closet and pulled out a thick, green tunic, complete with white leggings, leather boots, leather gloves, and, most important, the green hat. "Go ahead and try them on in the other room." She handed him the clothes. He bowed his head and left the room to change. He got all the thick, heavy armor off and put on the outfit. He looked in the full length mirror once he was done. He just remembered the scar over his eye was gone. He had been so used to it being there that he forgot. He hadn't put the hat on yet, he still needed to get his hair up.

"Maybe I could as Zelda for a hair tie." He put the sword Rusl gave him on his back and buckled it. He wasn't used to wearing a green tunic. He put the hat under his belt and picked up what he could of the armor. He carried it back to the weapons room. "What should I do with this armor?"

"I guess just set it somewhere." Raven shrugged his shoulders and set the armor down in the corner.

"Do you have a hair tie I could use?"

"Sure." Zelda took off her hair tie she was using. "You can use this. This was handed down in my family for decades." It was a thick woven green hair tie. She held it out to him. "It was made by the Princess Zelda before me. She meant it to be for her Hero once his hair grew out more." (It is said that something made by a loved one and given to you, it would protect you.)

"Thank you, Princess Zelda." She smiled.

"You look tired. Do you want to rest here?"

"No. The sooner I find Link, the better. Thank you for the generous offer though."

"I understand. Who knows what they're doing to him as we speak."

"Exactly. Thank you for understanding. I guess I'll be leaving."

"Hold on. I know of the stories I read saying the Hero is a fantastic archer." Zelda picked up a bow and a quiver. "You may need these. Show them what you're made of, Link." She handed them to him and he put the quiver over his other shoulder.

"Thank you. Oh, and my name isn't Link anymore. I changed it to Raven. I figured Link better suits the current hero."

"Well, Sir Raven. I bid thee farewell." She bowed and he bowed. They both stood up at the same time.

"If a ransom letter shows up, pay it to mind. You won't have to pay it. Do I have permission to kill them if I have no choice?"

"Of course. I probably wouldn't bat an eye if you killed them just to kill them. They're bad people. I know it's kind of bad for a princess to say that about her people, but they kidnapped a good friend and an ally to Hyrule. They won't go unpunished."

"Thank you. I guess this is goodbye."

"Until we meet again, Raven." Raven smiled and started to leave the castle. He pulled his hat out from his belt and put it on his head.

"I'm coming for you, my grandson. Just hold on."

Aw! That's what I call dedication to your family! You go get 'em Raven! We'll see what goes on with Link in the next chapter.

See ya,

Hero of Twili :D