The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga
By Queenie Z

The Visitor (Part 2 of 6)

As one could easily imagine, the Spirit's arrival was met with shock and awe by the Heroes. Following that shock and awe, however, was celebration. Though the visitor would only be staying for a short while - a few days at the most - the others had every intention of throwing him a welcoming party like they would with any other Link.

And what a party it turned out to be! The old veteran warrior had a taste for ale, which made all the stories he had to tell more interesting. Some of the Heroes were off doing other things - Twilight had been in the restroom for the past hour, most of the smaller Links were outside playing catch with bomb flowers, Light laid passed out on the sofa, and Sky was sitting awkwardly in the corner, stifling his jealousy to the best of his ability while also fighting off his sleepy, alcohol-induced haze. Regardless, Time, Brown, and Duo were all still around to listen to the old soul's tales of his life on the mortal plane.

The Spirit took a large gulp from his stein and sat it back down. "So tell me," he began, "have any of you ever been in a Hylian prison?"

"I was in a Gerudo prison once," said Time, "does that count?"

Brown burst into laughter; though he'd been laughing at almost everything since the ale started to get to him. The Spirit chuckled and spoke up over him.

"I'm afraid this wasn't the kind of prison you could hookshot your way out of," he continued. "I was chained to the wall of an old stone dungeon for four years."

"A war vet and an ex-con?" chuckled Brown, leaning back in his chair. "Ooh, watch out, this one's a tough guy!"

Duo ignored his successor's clowning. "Four years?" he asked, setting down his glass of milk (true to his nature, he didn't drink). "That's horrible! Why would they do that to you?"

"I'd tried to warn the people of Demise's coming and was dubbed a madman." He rested his head in his hand and scowled, though it looked more like an irate pout in his inebriated state. "The lords of the land didn't appreciate the panic I was causing, I suppose, and one in particular – Dagianis, I believe his name was - had it in for me."

Time frowned pitifully, already getting emotional from his story. "That's not fair!" he whined, "You're one of us! You're not a bad guy at all!"

"Just be thankful you weren't the one in chains, Time." The Spirit hiccupped. "Being force fed nothing but slop and dirty water, being scorned and humiliated by guards and criminals alike, relieving myself in a bucket - the same bucket for days, mind you..." He laid his head on the table, the drink and his painful recollections exhausting him. "If you'll pardon the pun... prison stinks."

Brown guffawed, nearly falling over in his seat from laughing too hard. When he saw that Time and Duo were glaring at him, however, he stopped.

"...Oh," he said sheepishly, "that's not funny at all, is it?"

"You poor thing," said Time, sniffling and holding on to the Spirit's arm in a pitiful attempt to comfort him. "I can't believe you had to... to..." Indeed, it was Time who needed comforting the most as he broke into a quiet sob.

"There, there," said Duo, reaching over to pat Time's head, "it's okay, I don't think he wants you to feel sorry for him..."

"That's precisely the point," added the Spirit, pointing to nothing in particular but sounding bold and confident all the same. "Despite all of that, I was able to fight on Hylia's behalf. Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!" He burped. "...You would all do well to remember that."

Brown bit his lip trying not to giggle again as Duo kept trying to calm down Time. Only the Spirit noticed the loud thud coming from the corner of the room, and he turned only to see his first incarnation splayed out on the floor next to a fallen chair, snoring.