Chapter 2: A Familiar Face

The following morning, the old man was gone, but he had left a note for Link:

'Went into town to get some supplies to fill an order. Feel free to come into town as well, just follow the signs on the road. If you're not back by the time I am, then I guess you've gone on to wherever. Be on the lookout for any deluded zealots while you're out there.'

-Ronno

Link decided that it would be a good idea to get a handle of the place he was in now, and that the best way to do that was to go out into this strange, new world. He left his room, made his way out the front door, and was on his way to the nearby town.

Getting there was easy enough. The signs pointed him in the right directions, and it was only a mile and a half or so until he reached the city limits. The town itself reminded Link of his own hometown of Ordon. The small huts with thatched roofs lined either side of the streets. Link guessed that this may be the business district, the way people were bustling about between the buildings with bags and baskets full of sundry items.

The happy chatter of the various citizens reached his ears, filling him with a sense familiarity for his home. Though it was definitely much larger than Ordon, it certainly felt like a close substitute. The only major differences here were the increased size, population, and the smell of the nearby ocean.

Link decided that his first order of business should be what he did every time he entered a new town: look around and see what people were selling. And in the meantime, see if he could find any trace of the old man.

The shops he visited seemed to be a standard fare of a tailor, hardware, sundries, musical instruments, medical services and the like. But there were also things that Link was entirely unfamiliar with. Most of all was the shop that sold magical items. That place had things like keys, medallions, cards, and various other mundane objects that the shopkeeper said had magical powers.

Link's eye was caught by a gold medallion with a lightning bolt on it. "Ah, I see you've been drawn to the ether medallion, young man," the shopkeeper said, suddenly appearing behind Link, and giving him a jump. "It's something quite special, that one. It's one of a trio of medallions that have powerful control over the elements of nature."

This information was interesting to Link. He looked back down at the medallion as he turned it in his hand, thinking that he could have used something powerful like that on his last quest. "What do the medallions do actually," he said as he looked back up at the shopkeeper, only to see that he was not there anymore.

"Well, that one in your hand utilizes the power of ice, and controls the upper atmosphere and polar winds," came the sudden exclamation from behind him, giving Link another jolt. "The quake medallion utilizes earth, and causes the ground to shake," came an explanation from a different direction, "And the bombos medallion utilizes fire magic, and explodes with power, making everything in a certain radius spontaneously combust," came the final explanation as the man finally stopped moving.

"Could you put a bell on if you're gonna keep doing that," Link asked, his nerves shot from being surrounded by only one person. It was almost as bad as what Zant did to him. "But, uh, how does it work," he asked once he got over the shock of assault by information.

"It's easy," the shopkeeper said delightfully, "You just hold it in your hand like this," he said as he curled Link's fingers around the medallion so that he gripped it tightly, "And then you hold a conduit high over your head," he said as he placed a broom in Link's other hand and grabbed his arm to raise it over his head.

What happened next stopped Link's heart. He saw blue lightning strike the top of the broom, and an icy wind blew around him, covering everything in ice and frost. Everything, that is, except for himself. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper was frozen solid. "Anything at all can be a conduit. Even something as mundane as a broom, or a breadstick," he finished up.

"People sell handheld blizzards around here," Link wondered aloud, "How come they don't do that back home?" He then realized that the entire shop was frozen, "Oh, hey, sorry about the mess. But maybe you can turn this place into a walk in freezer to cover the repair costs."

"Don't worry, it's all part of the job," the shopkeeper assured, barely able to move even his lips, "If I don't show off the merchandise, how will anyone know it works? You just go about your business."

Link felt a bit awkward, leaving the man like that, but he seemed alright with letting him go. Link simply put the medallion in the shopkeeper's hand and slowly made for the door. "Alright. See you later, snowflake," he said as he left.

Once he left, he started looking around at the others shops. One in particular caught his eye that sold travelling supplies, according to its' sign. Link was an experienced traveller, and decided to see if this shop met the standards of properly equipping those who are just passing through.

He stepped inside the building, and saw it to be fairly acceptable for supplying travellers. It had the basic things: water, food, horse feed, ropes, satchels, coats, the whole shebang. Except there were a few glaring omissions to the store's contents. "Where are the arrows, potions or bombs," Link thought. His life had been saved countless times by small things like that, but none of them were in sight. Not even a single, worthless slingshot. He decided to ask the cashier about it, after the customer in front of him was done.

"What do you mean 'fifty jewels for ten pounds of feed?' I can get thirty five pounds for the same price back home," the young customer said. She was a red-haired girl, about Link's own age, dressed in a white shirt, brown skirt and brown boots.

"If you can find a better deal in town, tell me where you do. Oh, I'm sorry: we're the only place that sells animal feed here," the disgustingly overweight cashier said, not once looking away from the magazine he was reading. "Now, if you have any more complaints about the pricing or whatever: you may direct them to that stuffed walrus," he continued as he indicated to a taxidermied animal that was decorating the shop.

Link now had two objectives: ask about the selective merchandise, and teach this jerk some manners. He started by loudly ringing the bell on the counter, which made the cashier jump. "Hey, walrus! I have a question: how come you don't stock arrows or potions? That's basic traveller equipment!"

"We don't sell arrows here. This isn't a weapons shop. But if you must shoot something: here," he then reached behind the counter and placed a slingshot on top. So, they did sell worthless slingshots there after all. "Maybe you can glue some sharp rocks to sticks and call them arrows."

"Ooh, a fat, sarcastic cashier. You must be a hit with the ladies," Link shot back to the obnoxious clerk. The girl who was waiting in line began to giggle when she heard Link's snark. The cashier on the other hand only grew more flustered at the barb that hit him, letting Link know that he had struck the right nerve.

"And what would you know about women? You probably only see them from the view on your high chair," the cashier retorted.

"You're one to talk about physical builds. Last time I saw something as big as you, a harpoon was stuck in it." After hearing Link's retort, the red-haired girl started laughing louder. The cashier was at a loss for words, and responded with an indistinct grumble. "Jeez, you don't have looks, but could you try to make up for it with a personality? Women love a poet, you know." He took his bravado even further by involving the girl.

"Gentle thing: truly are you the envy of the seasons. With hair of autumn leaves, eyes of the summer rain, flesh as the winter snow and a presence of the coming of flowers at the cusp of spring," Link said, rolling his 'r's in the manner of a minstrel. The young girl with him covered her face to hide her blush as she giggled uncontrollably. "See what I mean," he said to the cashier. He and the girl both left the store, leaving the cashier seething with rage at the knowledge that when this kid got older, he was going to get laid more than he ever would in his entire life.

"I'm really sorry for putting you on the spot like that," Link apologized to the girl as soon as they left the shop, "But thanks for going along with it. I mean, come on, 'women love a poet?' What a load. How obnoxious is that?"

"I actually thought it was nice of you to say that," the girl said to him. After a few more moments of silence, the girl decided that she had better introduce herself, "My name's Marley."

"Really," was all Link answered. He didn't understand what was so funny, but Marley began giggling again.

"So, what about your name?"

Link suddenly felt incredibly stupid when he realized what she was laughing about, "Oh! Uh, my name's Link." Marley stopped giggling, much to Link's relief. His quick thinking had paid off once again by saving the situation from becoming very awkward.

"You're not from around here, are you," Marley asked after she looked Link over.

"What gave me away," Link asked aloud, missing the fact that she was staring at his clothes.

"Well, you are dressed like a grasshopper."

"Again with the clothes," Link thought to himself as awkwardness punched him in the gut once more, "I just hate to think what she'd say about the hat." He needed a quick out from the situation, and decided to play off of what he had been given. "Where I'm from, all the kids dress like this. I grew up in some fairy woods, with a magic talking tree. It was nice, but the fairies got a bit annoying." His anxiety quickly subsided after his ridiculous joke.

"FAIRIES," She yelled loudly in surprise. Link thought he might have hit the right button with that one. Apparently, what was common back home was a big deal wherever 'here' was.

"It's not as nice as you'd think. Imagine trying to fall asleep with a glowing little bug in your ear trying it's hardest to make you listen to it. They're a bunch of zippy attention hogs is all," Link said, doing his best to act natural. He didn't want to get her hopes up too much, and decided to tell her the truth before he left to find the old man, but he wasn't about to be let go so easily.

"Where? Did you bring one? Do they glow? Are they smart?"

"Uhhhh...It was nice meeting you, but I didn't' get breakfast today," Link said, grasping for a way out, but Marley was more persistent than he would have liked.

"Me neither. We can talk about it over food," she said excitedly as she led Link away by his wrist through town.

Their trip stopped at a vendor, who Marley ordered chicken ramen from. Link asked if he had any pumpkin soup, and when all he got in return was a blank stare, Marley ordered potstickers for him. The children took their meal to the patio area by the stand, and continued their discussion about Link's upbringing.

He told her about life in Ordon, which confused Marley, who remembered him saying he lived in fairy woods. It wasn't actually a lie, since the forest the village was located in had a fairy spring only a few hundred feet from Link's house. The details about his life there with his friends kept the girl's attention while he described Malo, Talo, Beth, and at length, his oldest friend, Ilia. Of course, he decided not to tell her about the invasion of bulblins that sent him on a quest to bring light back to a world bathed in twilight after he turned into a wolf and killed two evil overlords before he got sent into a different land by one of them. He didn't want to scare her, after all. He began telling her about his work as a goatherd when Marley unexpectedly had another outburst.

"GOATS," she exclaimed loudly, knocking Link out of his seat. He guessed maybe that goats were a big deal too. "I've wanted dad to raise goats for a long time, but he says that we only board horses."

"You board horses? I thought that's what boats were for," Link said as he dusted himself off and sat back down.

"No, we take care of other people's horses for them," she giggled at the idea. "But I would like to have more animals around the house. I think it would be fun taking care of all different kinds of animals. But, dad makes the rules, and he says that I can do it when I own the ranch after he retires." She said the last part with another giggle, letting Link know how excited, and how serious she was about the future prospect. "That, or if business goes under, and it's not like that'll happen anytime soon. Dad always has clients who need their horses taken care of. Or it's like today when we find some stray foal. That's why we're here in town today: we're trying to find who she belongs to."

In all his years, Link only had one horse that he raised since she was a foal, and it broke his heart to think that someone would abandon one for any reason. "Does that happen often?"

"No, only once in a long while. But this one's different from the others we find. You can tell if a horse is domesticated, because they act so nice around people. But I think this one's been wild since birth," she explained the situation she and her dad had earlier, where it took them almost twenty minutes to calm down a filly they found curled up all alone in the grass outside their home.

That small description definitely reminded Link of his own beloved horse. When they were young, Epona would have nothing to do with him, and went into a wild, bucking frenzy whenever he, or anyone else got close.

That all changed one day when he had a particularly hard day at work and played a song he knew on a piece of horseshoe grass.

He had no memories of his parents. His mom died giving birth to him, and his dad was a knight who died in battle before he was a year old, but he had only one thing of theirs after their passing: a song they wrote for him before he was born, to lull him to sleep. He didn't know the words, but he would often play that melody when he was feeling down.

It was when he played that tune for the first time since that filly was born that she approached him calmly and he shared the apple he was eating with her. He didn't know what it was about the song that she liked so much, but from that point on, the two were inseparable companions.

Those memories made Link feel hollow, now that he was so far away from his precious companion. He tried to put them behind him by talking to Marley some more. "What kind of foal did you find?" Damn...his mind was stuck on horses it seemed.

"I'm not sure of the breed. But it's a filly with some odd coloring," she began, "She has a sorrel coat with a white mane. Does that sound like any breed you know?"

It did indeed. Link suddenly became ecstatic by the description and stood up suddenly to leave. Now it was his turn to take Marley's wrist and guide her to his destination. "Where are we going," she asked, slightly alarmed by the spur of action.

"There's something I have to check," Link answered. He led her all the way to the music shop that he found earlier and browsed their contents. He stopped when he found one instrument that looked like a blue potato with a mouthpiece that jutted from the main body, and six holes in it. "What the hell is this thing," he wondered aloud, before he quickly got back on track to finding what he wanted.

He went through countless instruments: a harp, a flute, a set of drums, an organ, a cello, a guitar, a triangle, and even a conductor's baton. But he couldn't find anything that he could play. He was about to give up, but then he found it. Hidden behind the other merchandise, he saw a small, simple whistle on the shelf. "It's perfect," he thought to himself before he ran back out to the front of the shop.

He put the whistle to his lips and played the song for his beloved horse on it in a few short notes. Hopefully, he waited. He listened in the distance for anything. A hoofbeat. A whinny. Nothing. It really was too much to get his hopes up like that. With a sigh, he turned to put the whistle back in the shop when suddenly in the distance, he heard a high pitched whinny, coupled by rapidly approaching hoofbeats.

In the crowd before him, he could see people being pushed aside by something smaller than them. Link's heart grew all aflutter when he saw the familiar muzzle of a white maned horse break through the crowd and rush toward him. Sure, she was now a filly, much like he was now a boy, but that didn't matter. He was now reunited with his precious Epona.

"Epona! My baby! My sweetheart! My precious horsey," Link gushed to his pet as he tightly hugged her. "How did you get here? How did my baby find me so far from home?"

Marley smiled at the sight before her. Seeing the boy she had just met reunite with a lost filly she had found brought a tear to her eye, and a smile to her face.

"Hey! You blew it, you bought it," the store clerk said, pointing at the whistle in Link's hand, and effectively ruining the happy moment for all three involved.

"You blew it when you decided to wear socks with sandals," Link retorted, revenge for ending the reunion between boy and horse.

"My feet get cold if I don't cover them."

"You want to talk about cold: check out that magic shop down the road. It looks like an iceberg fell on it."

Marley giggled again, until she noticed Link looking down the road in the direction of five hooded men.

A/N: And that's that for this chapter. If you look closely, you may have seen a few not-so-subtle references to other Zelda games. Some of you may not like the way Link is portrayed in this story, but the beauty of the character is that we get to make up a personality for him, since none is provided in the games. In this case, I went for a kind of Robin Williams/ Groucho Marx/ Yakko Warner-type joker. Also thrown into the mix is a bit of socially awkward weirdo, along with the usual expected heroism. Sorry for taking so long to update, but I'm helping a friend write his stories too. Feel free to check out the Naruto x DC Universe crossover, Graveslide, if you have a minute to spare. Also, I'm thinking of doing a side project of my own that crosses over Legend of Zelda with Calvin and Hobbes. That's all from me, people. Leave your comments and questions, favorite this story if you like it enough, and rock on \m/