Expectations vs. Reality

"Link… Link… Link!"

When he opened his eyes, he had hardly any time to react in order to catch himself from falling to the floor face-first. He cursed at himself inwardly for almost falling asleep on the job again.

Karane was standing in front of him with an overly concerned look plastered across her face, "Link, are you alright? Do I need to call a doctor or something?"

"N-no," He stammered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "it's nothing."

"Then why are you passing out on me?" She looked him over, putting a palm to his forehead in order to check if he had some sort of fever. "Are you… When was the last time you slept?"

"I… uh…" He thought for a moment, trying to decide whether to be honest or not, mostly because he did not particularly like being fussed over.

"I don't know," was the only answer he could muster.

"Link, you can't keep ignoring this." Karane bent down to get on eye level with the boy, who had just sat down in a chair, avoiding her worried stare. "Why don't you go and take the rest of the day off? I can handle things for now. And you..." She took him by the shoulders and turned him in the direction of his basement bedroom, "You need to get some rest in order to function properly."

He immediately protested, remembering that every time he attempted to sleep, the nightmares would return. Even when he closed his eyes for little more than a minute, the demons from his dreams would return to hunt him down. "I can't!"

"And why not?" She inquired, with a frustrated look in her eyes. Link felt a pang of guilt in his chest for refusing her help, even though he knew her intentions were the most sincere of heart. "Link, you know that I am telling you what to do because I care very much about your well being, right?"

She pulled him into a much-needed hug; which he didn't protest this time.

He let out a heavy sigh, "I know." He whispered, "Can I just… go outside and clear my head? I just need some time. To think."

Karane released her tight embrace on him and patted his shoulder, "Alright, but promise me you won't fall flat on your face in the middle of the road." She said with a chuckle.

He gave her a half hearted smile on his way out the door, silently hoping he was even able to keep that promise. He tried as best as he could to keep himself composed, but at this point, he just felt like a numb, emotionless mass. Yet, at the same time, he always felt on the edge of a panic attack or something very similar.

He breathed in the warm dry air of Kakariko Village, sincerely enjoying the strong wind that always blew from the top of Death Mountain. It felt as if he could never breathe the same breath of air twice because the wind never stopped travelling. And because of that, the great windmill never stopped moving. It was always being pushed by the winds. It had been said by some that the wind was a blessing upon the village by Farore, one of the three goddesses responsible for creating the world.

Link himself was never quite the religious type. He grew up only learning of the three goddesses' existence and the roles they had in creating the world and the legendary Triforce, but his religious education went no further than that. He was often told of the existence of spirits and guardian deities that presided over Hyrule's lands to protect them, but he had never personally believed in them as he had never seen any evidence that they were any more real than fairy tales.

He knew many people who were very open about their faith and practiced it daily, one of whom was Karane. She often told him that she was praying for him whenever he had been in a mental low point, and seemed genuinely convinced it would help. Link wasn't sure entirely what it meant, but he didn't question it. He wondered if life was easier for people who believed in the gods and regularly communicated, as most people who did were generally happier people.

He didn't want to dwell on it, since he felt that, even if the gods were real, they would be severely disappointed in him since he had been essentially ignoring them his whole life and hadn't done anything of true value or honor. He was only a lowly kitchen boy, and nothing more.

Link decided that a good use of his time alone would be to sit on the balcony of the Elde Inn, overlooking the entire town from above. The wind was significantly stronger the higher up in altitude one went when in Kakariko.

"May I sit with you?" He heard a small, quiet voice from behind him. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw that it was the village shaman Old Lady Luda. She was a short elderly woman with thin, straight white hair, dark eyes, full lips, dressed in leathers with varying shades of brown, walked on a wooden cane, and was the oldest resident in Kakariko. She often tended to the sick and wounded and was known as the greatest medic in all of Hyrule.

"Sure," Link said, silently wanting to be alone, but couldn't bring himself to say no to a sweet old lady such as Luda.

After a brief moment of silence and enjoying the view of the town, Link decided to break the silence by asking her a question.

"Do you have any kind of medicine that can take my dreams away?"

She gave him an inquisitive look, "No, I do not. I have many sleeping aids, but nothing that will keep dreams from entering your mind when you sleep. Why do you ask?"

Link sighed, "I just… I keep having terrible nightmares and they've been tormenting me for weeks. I'm…" He paused, and his voice fell to a trembling whisper, "I'm afraid…"

He proceeded to bury his face in his hands, "It's stupid to be afraid. None of it is real."

"Young man, you mustn't scold yourself for feeling a very real human emotion. Having fear is necessary, and admitting it is very brave."

He scoffed at being called 'brave', not believing her one bit. Yeah right, he thought. All I do is run from my problems.

Link's doubt in himself was plainly obvious; Luda could read him like a book. She leaned over and pinched his pointed ear sharply, causing him to let out a small yelp of pain in return.

"What in Hyrule was that for?"

"I will not allow you to have self depreciative thoughts. You are much more valuable than you think you are."

"How did…?" He knew he wouldn't get a definitive answer, so he didn't ask how she knew what he was thinking. "Sorry…"

"No need to apologise. It takes many years to unlearn what you were raised to think."

He wanted to tell her not to bring up his mother every single time he wasn't doing well, but Luda was right. For the first eight years of his life, he was constantly belittled and verbally abused by the one person who should have protected and nurtured him. He had done his best to forget his past as much as he could and embrace the life he had now, but it was a slow, grueling process.

He just wanted to be able to live a life that was filled with new adventures and memories to replace the old ones.

Luda decided to break the silence once more, taking on a more serious tone in her voice. "I once knew a man who would never admit that he needed help, and it almost destroyed him. It would break the hearts of your loved ones if you make the same mistake."

Link looked at her, slightly surprised at what she had just said. He didn't know how to respond because of how vague and broad she was.

"Luda, I'm not sure I understand…" He said as he furrowed his brow.

The elderly woman stood up slowly to take her leave, "I hope you will understand, someday, that you mustn't suffer alone." She opened the door to the inn and her voice fell to a whisper, inaudible to Link who was still sitting on a chair on the balcony behind her, "You remind me of him… I see a courageous heart in you."

She closed the door behind her, leaving Link to be alone with his thoughts again.

He decided to further get his mind off of his troubles by visiting the nearby Goron village at the foot of Death Mountain. It was a strenuous trek uphill, which took almost an hour to complete, but it was not ever too difficult for Link. Despite his recent insomnia, he was always agile and strong for his age and size.

On his off days, he would spend much of his time in the small Goron village with two Gorons he had befriended and had taken the boy under their wing, Amoto and Liggs, who played many games with him and taught him the ways of surviving on the mountain. Link always had a strange love for the outdoors, and being with the Gorons made him feel at home.

By the time evening had rolled around, Link and the two Gorons sat by a campfire and shared stories of epic proportion with each other. Some sounded obviously too hyperbolic and ridiculous to be true, others were downright comedic. Liggs' story told of a dodongo that was the size of a house that had terrorized the Gorons hundreds of years ago.

Link laughed at how preposterous the story was. The likelihood of a dodongo reaching any size larger than a dog was laughably small.

"I heard it was true! It's an old Goron tale." Amoto protested. "They say it kept us from mining for food and almost starved us all to death! Well, it's what the elders say, anyways."

Link chuckled, "And how'd they get it out?"

Liggs replied, "They say that a child of the forest slayed the beast."

"Really?" Link scoffed, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Yeah, yeah," Liggs said, "I don't believe it, personally, but a few of the elders take it real seriously."

Amoto interjected, "That's part of that Hero of Time story. Y'know, the Hero that's reborn every time there's a bad thing goin' on."

"That's just a legend," Liggs said.

"The Hero returned and defeated that evil king a hundred-or-so years ago, I recall. He was the real deal. Saved all of Hyrule." Amoto retorted.

"There was no 'Hero' when there was a civil war a couple years ago. Explain that."

Amoto went silent, pondering Liggs' argument. "You're right. Hmm." He scratched his chin and gestured to Link after a moment. "What do you think, Link? Do you think it's true? That the Hero is real?"

Link stared at the fire as its flames began to dim down, yearning for more fuel. He hadn't really considered any of the stories he was told to be true, personally, but it did not completely rule out any of them to be true. He wasn't sure what to think. He always assumed them to be just stories and nothing more.

He simply replied to his Goron friend with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

"Indecisive as ever. That's our Link!" Liggs laughed, patting his young Hylian friend on the back.

They sat around the campfire, admiring the stars for a good while longer. The night sky was clear, and the air was cold on the mountain, which was brightly illuminated by the waning gibbous moon.

"Thanks for hanging out with me today, guys." Link said, breaking the peaceful silence. "I needed to get my mind off of things." He told them that he had to head back to Kakariko before it became late enough for monsters to roam around in the wee hours of the night. They said their goodbyes and he was off.

The cool night wind on the small dirt road to Kakariko gave him chills that ran down his spine. As he neared Kakariko, he noticed a strange cloud that had almost blotted out the moon's light. He noticed that it was no ordinary cloud, however. It was a cloud of smoke… coming straight from his destination.

Kakariko.

He darted around the bend, hoping that the source of the smoke was merely a large bonfire, or something. His heart raced at the realization that someone could be in danger. As he came closer, he found that what was causing the smoke was a fire.

Several houses were burning.

He heard screams of terror, windows crashing, and he felt an overwhelming smoldering heat surround him as he entered the village. He made his way towards Karane's house, his house, frantically searching for her, hoping she would be safe. He hoped that the fire was an accident, and that every resident of Kakariko would get out safely. Link called out to her amidst the flames. To his horror, the house was burning down beyond recognition and there was no way in.

After a brief moment, he heard a response to his desperate calls. He heard Karane screaming his name from down the road, screaming for help. He immediately ran toward the source, grabbing a stone, the size of two of his hands combined.

He found her, behind a small shed, cowering in front of a tall man in a cloak whose sword was drawn, smiling maniacally. Karane was on the ground, fearing for her life, and seemingly looked injured, which kept her from being able to run away. The man didn't take notice of the boy behind him, who immediately lunged for the man, striking him over the head with the stone he had, shattering it upon impact.

The man stumbled forward and fell to his knees, catching himself with his hands. He reeled around, giving Link the most nasty, terrifying glare. Link's heart skipped a beat as the man rushed toward him, grabbing him before he could run away.

"You think you can best me, boy?" The man growled as he pushed Link to the ground, painfully dragging him across the dirt. Link was too busy struggling against the man's tight hold on him to notice Karane behind them, who was reaching for a large, heavy tree branch on the ground. She struggled greatly to stand upright, due to an injury on her leg, but she had a strong will to get the boy out of harm's way.

She limped towards them as quickly as she could, noticing the man unsheathing a dagger and pointing it at Link's throat. The urgency of the situation filled her with adrenaline as she bashed the man over his head with the branch with all of her might, instantly knocking him out cold. He toppled to the side, freeing Link from his clutches.

The boy was shaking and bleeding from the assault, attempting to take in everything that had just happened. He suddenly heard voices horses galloping from further down the road, "Get up, get up. We have to hide." Karane said with a hushed but urgent tone, "The rest of them are coming."

Both of them rushed to hide behind a small chicken coop that was free of the fires around them. Link tried as best as he could to help support Karane while walking because of her injury.

Just as they were out of sight, three more men rushed to the side of the man who lay on the ground, unconscious from Karane's attack. As the others arrived he quickly came to and angrily explained to them what had happened.

"You were beaten to the ground by an injured woman and a kid?" One of them mocked as the rest of them laughed, "We already have what we need. Leave them. The villagers are not what we came here for."

The man shamefully stood up, and all four of them quickly rode off into the night, leaving the town to burn in their wake.

Karane and Link emerged from behind the coop, watching them as they rode away. They were at a loss of what to do; their house had been burned, the village was sacked. Dozens of people were left homeless including themselves.

"Who…" Link started, "Who were those guys?"

Karane hesitated, "I don't know," She said, "But I've heard rumors of a group that has been terrorizing Hyrule's towns and villages for the past month." She closed her eyes, hanging her head and rubbing her temples, "It seems that the rumors turned out to be true."

"What do we do now?"

"We have to recover and rebuild… but not without help."

Author's Notes

First of all, I apologize for disappearing for months without any explanation. The explanation is simple: School happened and I got busy because of it.

However, I've been doing the best I can to draft chapters and get back on track for semi-regular updates. I have been developing the story and further fleshing it out, so in the end, the wait will be worth it because you will get a better story.

Anywho, have a nice day. Keep reading and reviewing 3 I always love your feedback, even if I don't get around to responding!