When Link awoke, his forehead pulsed and throbbed. He groaned as he staggered to his feet. What happened? He shook his head and cracked open his eyes, blinking when raindrops stung them.
He was on all fours. He was a wolf again. The realization sent shards of ice scraping down his spine. What had happened?
Lakebed Temple. Fused Shadow. Lanayru's spring. Zant.
A strangled wheeze from on his back pulled him out of his thoughts. Midna? What was wrong- oh, oh by Ordona's horns, that was bad.
Midna wasn't a shadow. She was in her physical body. And not just that. Her skin was a sickly pale, with blotches of dark blue. Her helmet was gone, revealing silver-blue hair that draped onto his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, her mouth twisted into a grimace.
At least she was still breathing.
She shivered as she lay slumped onto his back. The stabbing chill of the rain couldn't have been helping. Her breaths were ragged and raspy, part shudder and part gasp.
It sent his stomach churning. What had happened to her?
Lanayru's voice floated across the field. "Link. Go to Princess Zelda. Only she can help you." But what about Midna?! He whined.
Her voice was weak as she whimpered from his back. "... Link... H-hurry... Hurry... to Z-Zelda..."
He nodded. 'Hold on, Midna! I'll get you to Princess Zelda!' He took off in a sprint. It was faster than he'd ever run before, and his paws were already starting to ache. But he didn't dare think about slowing down.
'Just hold on, Midna! I'll get you to the princess, you're going to be okay!' She didn't respond, sending another jolt of panic through his chest that spurred him forward even faster. Was she still breathing? She had to be, she couldn't have... No. He couldn't think about that. She was alive. She was going to be okay. The princess would make sure of that.
The rain made the cobblestone path slippery. Enough so that one of his paws almost slid out from under him.
He forced himself to keep his balance. He couldn't let Midna fall. She was counting on him. He wouldn't let her down. 'Please, please, just hold on, Midna!' He had to stay off of the cobblestone. He couldn't afford to trip and fall. Midna needed him to keep his balance. His claws dug and tore into the dirt and grass as he ran.
As he reached the cobblestone path outside of the city, his paws slid across the surface again. No! His claws gouged for anything they could grab onto. Something to stop himself from slipping past the bridge. At the last second, he dragged himself to the side, towards the bridge.
Once he was inside the city, he didn't waste any time sprinting towards the castle. He ignored the terrified screams of the people he passed on the rainy streets. It didn't matter. Dwelling on it wouldn't help Midna.
The doors to the castle were shut, with two guards in front of it who shook and brandished their spears when Link neared them.
'Please, let me through! I need to see Princess Zelda!' He whined, tail between his legs.
One of the guards raised a shaky hand and tapped the other on the shoulder. "A-Arvuz, did you hear that t-too? I d-didn't know the shadow b-beasts could t-talk!"
Link whined again. 'I'm not a shadow beast! Please, I need the princess' help!'
The second guard let out a scoff that shook as much as the first guard's hand. "Even if it's n-not a shadow beast, it's still a m-m-monster in the town!"
Link was about to plead again, when one of the guards lunged forward and stabbed at his shoulder. He yelped and staggered back from the two guards, whining. The spear tip hadn't gone too deep into his skin, but by Ordona's horns, it hurt.
He turned and fled. The guards wouldn't help him.
A shrill horn echoed in the air and rattled through his bones.
He had to find some other way into the castle. Some other way to get to the princess. Otherwise Midna was going to- no, no he couldn't think like that!
More people on the streets shrieked as he passed them. No wonder, when they also thought he was a shadow beast. Who was going to help something they thought was a monster? Something they thought had attacked the city?
Metal clanking and scraping across stone. Voices shouting. People fled, ducking behind doors as different people replaced them.
Guards.
He had to hide.
But where?
He scampered into the first alleyway he saw. His legs ached and he panted.
A small cat trotted up to him.
Link whined. 'Please. I'm not here to hurt anyone. I need help.'
The cat plopped down in front of him, tilting their head to one side. "You don't smell like the city. You must be new here." The cat licked their paw and brought it behind their ear. "If you need help, you should go see Louise. She lives with a human called Telma." The cat stopped rubbing their ear for a moment, looking up at Link with what looked like a solemn expression. "Louise knows everything about this city. She'll be able to help you."
Link's heart leapt to his throat. 'Thank you so much!'
He sprinted out of the alley, up the street to where he knew Telma's bar was-
and crashed into the guard standing in the entryway.
The guard yelped and spun to see Link. He groaned, even as his hand shook. "Lanayru's jaws, of course I find the monster..." The guard leveled his spear, glancing down the alley.
Great. Just perfect. The one exit to the alley was blocked.
What was he supposed to do now? Scale the walls?!
The guard shifted his grip, keeping the spear leveled with one hand while scrambling for something on his belt.
A horn.
Link's mind spun. He had to do something. The guard couldn't call for others.
Maybe if something stopped him? For just long enough?
Just long enough for Link to sprint past.
His chest tightened. His mouth soured, and claws of ice scraped along his back.
There was no other way.
His ears rang.
It was necessary.
A growl chased the bitterness from his throat, from his mouth.
It was for Midna.
The guard glanced at his belt, and Link struck. A quick lunge. His jaws clamped on the man's arm.
He didn't have to hurt the guard. Just distract him.
His teeth punched through the links in the guard's mail anyway. Cold and rigid metal. Warm and liquid metal.
The guard recoiled, yelping before letting out a shriek, but that was enough. He had moved, and the alleyway entrance was clear. Sprinting away, Link reached the streets once more, with a firm destination this time.
His paws splashed through shallow puddles as he ran. Puddles that made the cobblestone even smoother. Every movement, every turn, they had to be deliberate. Turning too quickly meant slipping and skidding, scrambling to catch himself in time to swing to one side or another.
It meant risking Midna falling from his back.
He walked down the stairs to Telma's bar as quickly as he could, in his mud-covered, aching, soaking-wet paws. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, and his chest heaved as he panted. The bitter chill of the rain reached past his fur, to his very bones. At least it numbed the pain from the guard's spear.
Another shiver from Midna. She was still alive.
If only there were more he could do for her.
The square in front of Telma's bar had deeper puddles than the rest of the city. They weren't deep enough to stop him- even Lake Hylia wouldn't stop him. But more water splashed up onto his legs and his stomach as he trudged forward.
At least the entrance to Telma's bar seemed dry, thanks to the overhang. He didn't have time to shake the water off. Doing that would shake Midna from his back too. There would be time to dry off later.
The door into the bar was open, just barely. Was Telma back from Kakariko yet? Maybe he could talk to her and ask for help.
He hadn't taken more than a couple steps into the bar before a large Goron stepped towards him. "A wolf? What are you doing here?" The Goron stepped closer, a confused frown on his face. Then he shook his head, backing Link out of the doorway. "Get out! Go on now, shoo!" Before Link could even respond, the door slammed in his face. He let out a whine.
He had to find another way to Princess Zelda. She would know how to help Midna.
As he trudged back to the stairs, a voice called out to him. "You there!" He glanced up at where the voice came from. A white cat, perched near a window that looked out over a stack of boxes. His head sank, before something called him to look again.
Not just any white cat. Telma's cat.
She leapt down from the boxes to stand in front of Link. "You're Link, correct?" He nodded. "Yes, I thought so. I could just tell, you know." She shook some of the water off of her fur. It didn't do much, especially with the rain still falling and pooling at their feet. "Though, I am a bit puzzled as to why you look like that." Link whined. How could he explain everything to her? Did he have time?
Louise looked up at Midna. "Hm. That thing on your back doesn't seem to be doing too well."
He nodded. 'I need to take her to Princess Zelda. Lanayru said she could help.'
Louise stared at Link, before pointing her nose at where she had jumped down from. "Up there, through the window. The attic connects to the castle's waterway." She tried to shake more water off of her fur. "It's an old waterway, though. It will probably be a rough trip." She turned back to look at Link. "I'll make sure the humans inside don't notice you." With that, she walked over to the door into the bar.
Okay. 'Thank you, Louise.' Then he turned and leapt up onto the boxes and into the window.
It felt odd, looking down at Telma's bar. A ledge loomed above the rest of the bar, with clay pots scattered across it. There were gaps in the ledge, in some places. In those gaps, wooden planks had been placed down. Wooden planks that bent ever-so-slightly in the middle. He gave a silent prayer to Ordona. For Midna's sake, the planks had to support him.
He glanced around. Louise had mentioned the bar's attic.
There. Across from where he stood was an opening in the wall. That had to lead to the attic.
How badly he wished he could just sprint and jump across. But without Midna's help, he couldn't. And with the wooden planks looking the way they did, he couldn't even run across. He would have to walk.
Even on the ledges, he had to be careful. Some of the clay pots were so, so very close to the edge. It wouldn't take much for one of them to fall, to tumble down and smash into tiny pieces. The people of the bar would realize he was there, then.
Below, the Goron that had pushed him out of the bar was grumbling to himself. "This city air does not suit my skin..." He sighed, shaking his head. "I cannot wait to return home and soak in the hot spring."
As he reached the next chunk of stone, Louise started meowing at the door. Telma, behind the counter, sighed. "Oh, Louise. You meowed to go outside, and now you meow to come back in?" She shook her head, chuckling to herself as she walked to the door. "Silly cat." That gave Link the perfect opportunity to sneak past on the board above her.
At the back of the bar, where the soldiers had stood however long ago, were three people sitting at that same table. A woman wearing armor, a man wearing fancy clothes, and another, older man wearing thick leather gloves. Who could they be?
The older man spoke in a hushed whisper. "I heard that an acquaintance of Telma's defeated the beast that had been attacking tourists on the bridge. His name was Link." A shiver ran down Link's spine at that. They were talking about him! "It sounds like he brought Telma and her young ward to Kakariko Village."
The armored woman huffed. "And here I was, thinking Hyrule was empty of men of valor."
The older man shook his head. "No, I don't believe he's from Hyrule proper at all. From what Telma said, it sounds like he's from the neighboring province of Ordona."
The well-dressed man sighed. "This may sound... horribly elitist of me to say... But people who do not know the city simply do not know fear." The woman nodded.
Midna's shuddering, wheezing breath spurred him forward. He didn't have time to eavesdrop! Midna needed Princess Zelda's help!
He slipped through the opening in the wall. The bar's attic. It was small and cramped, filled with boxes and barrels that smelled of so many different things. Meats and spices and- he had to focus. The attic would bring him to the castle.
