Chapter 1: Waking Beneath the Half-Moon

In which Avi wakes in the dead of night.

"Are… are you all right?" A rich, tenor voice roused Avi from the darkness. She would have protested, except the sleep she had awoken from was not exactly comfortable.

As her senses returned, Avi realized her entire body was enveloped in water. The sensation was strange—instead of soothing her skin as one would expect, it prickled and stung a bit. The sand underneath her back was soft and grainy, but it felt like a cheese grater against her bare shoulder blades.

Avi opened her eyes to meet a young man's face overhead, surrounded by a canopy of branches and the pinpricks of stars between their leaves. His grey eyes stared down at her, unmistakably concerned. A soft blue light—reflected from the water, maybe—illuminated his face and sharp features. It was quite a pleasant sight, ignoring that Avi's entire being was filled with screaming anxiety.

Where was she? Why was she here? Who was this man leaning over her?

Avi sat up quickly, and the young man deftly moved out of the way to avoid an incoming headbutt. She looked around, feeling her chest start to heave quickly. Avi was sitting in a small pool of water fed by a short waterfall. Above her, a half-moon grinned. She turned to see a wooden gate adorned with floral vines partially open and leading further into the forest.

The young man was in a nightshirt and undershorts; he clearly hadn't expected to be here either. He was sitting patiently, the water soaking his undergarments, watching Avi gain her bearings. Yet still, his eyes never left her, and Avi did not know whether that made her more nervous or not.

Finally, after a few moments of taking in the scenery, Avi spoke. "Where am I?"

Her voice came out more hoarse than she expected. It was as if her throat had a hundred small cuts within, leaving her coughing from the shock of pain.

"This is Ordon Spring, just outside of the village," he answered.

"Ordon…?" Avi trailed off, unsure of what to make of his answer. She hadn't ever heard of Ordon Spring or any villages associated with the name.

"Yes, south of Hyrule Field." When Avi showed even more confusion with this answer, the young man frowned. "You… don't know where that is, either?"

"No, sorry."

"Hyrule is the country we're in right now."

"Oh…"

The young man's frown deepened. "Just who are you?"

The question threw Avi off. She knew she was Avi. That was indeed her name. But, where was the rest of it? Who was she?

Her head started to pound, and a sharp pain formed behind her eyes. She shoved the damp heels of her hands against them, trying to alleviate the pain with pressure. Avi groaned, realizing that every attempt to push beyond the wall of fog in her head that blocked any knowledge past her own name was causing this horrible sensation. A hand, calloused and rough, placed itself against Avi's back. It was surprisingly soothing.

"I'm sorry. I can't remember," she managed to say, still covering her eyes. "I know my name is Avi, but anything else…"

"I see," he said, trailing off for a moment. "My name is Link. I live here in Ordon Village. Is it okay if I take you back to my home to get you into dry clothing? We can figure out what to do from there."

Avi released the pressure on her eyes, the pain receding. She looked at Link, studying his face. Common sense told Avi she shouldn't be too trusting right now; she was vulnerable in more ways than one. Still, something about Link made her want to depend on him. His eyes were sincere.

She nodded slowly.

Link helped her up. Thankfully, despite some weakness in her legs, Avi was able to move around just fine. A damp, white dress clung to her skin almost embarrassingly, but Link avoided looking. Avi shivered from the chill before taking his arm as he led her from the small oasis and onto a forest path.

Avi watched their feet rather than their surroundings. She was afraid to step on something sharp with her bare feet. Link was also notably barefoot, but he seemed to know where to place his feet in the darkness without much thought.

Link's home was a tree; rather, it was a house carved into a tree. Save for the small roof and outlets for windows and the front door, Avi wouldn't have thought it out of the ordinary from the rest of the forest at all. A few battered straw dummies sat on the edge of the clearing, and a small stable was built next to the large tree. From the stable came a soft whinny as they approached, but Link ignored it and led her to the ladder in front of it instead.

They climbed up the ladder, and Link led her inside, lighting a lantern. Avi stood and glanced around—nearly everything was carved from wood, from the dining table to Link's bed a few stories above. A stone kiln served as a fireplace and oven, venting into the ceiling. Rugs and other pieces of cloth covered sharp surfaces, softening the overall atmosphere of the home.

While Avi had been looking around, Link had retrieved a set of dry clothes. He handed it to her gently.

"You go ahead and change into this. I'm going to head outside and check the spring again to see if we left anything behind."

Avi nodded. "Okay. Thank you so much, Link."

He didn't say anything for a moment. Instead, Link stared down at the tunic he had handed her. Was he planning on taking it back? Avi pulled the clothing closer, effectively dragging Link away from whatever thoughts he was having.

"No problem. I'll be back soon." Link smiled at her before sliding on a pair of sandals and slipping out the front door.

Avi slowly peeled the drenched fabric from her skin and slipped the dry, beige tunic over her head, pulling long, damp hair out of the neck opening. It was nice and warm now; a part of her was still on edge due to her lack of memories, but the sense of security she now felt assuaged a portion of her unease.

She found herself sinking to the ground on the rug beneath her. Avi hadn't realized how exhausted she was. Now that Link was gone and Avi acknowledged the feeling of safety, her muscles ached and protested against her. At least the rug was warm from the ongoing fire in the stone kiln. Avi watched the flames for a while, not realizing her eyes were closing from the heavy weight of fatigue.