"I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner. Have a good night." Anju said with a small bow as she took Link's tray and left the room.
The boy didn't say anything, just watching the innkeeper leave. His nap had lasted a few hours, and he spent the rest of the time simply staring at the wall until Anju came in with his dinner. He and Tatl didn't really say anything, as it felt like they had said everything they needed to. Link's head hurt a bit still, but the aching of his entire body had mostly faded away by this point.
He noticed that Anju hadn't touched him during his second meal. No pats on the head or anything like that. But she did sit there and watch him the entire time, that blatant look of pity on her face as he slowly ate her meal. A few times it seemed like she had wanted to say something, but she was never able to make herself speak. Really, Link was fine with that. Her actions during lunch already made him feel somewhat uneasy, so her backing off a bit sure helped.
"So, you still want to train yourself a bit tomorrow?" Tatl asked, breaking the silence. "I still want to help with that, but I wouldn't know how…" It really felt like she did just about nothing to aid Link on his quest. Begging that Gerudo to spare his life along with some small bits of information had been about all she did for him. From this point on, she really wanted to do more…she just didn't know how. Flying into the face or eyes of enemies seemed so terrifying to her, but she knew it wasn't fair that she expected a child to go ahead and fight some opponents off. Especially now with his handicap…
"Tomorrow." Link clarified. "Until then, I want to just rest." His body was aching as much, but he still felt pretty weak. No telling if that was physical or emotional exhaustion…or some mix of both. "I just need to go downstairs to the restroom."
Tatl recalled how hard it was for Link to grab his spoon or glass of milk. "Uh, you sure you can handle that?" If just eating made him take his time, how would going down the stairs fare for him?
"I don't have a choice." It wasn't like he could hold it in all night! "There's a handrail, so I'll be fine." Even if he didn't say it, he appreciated her concern. He wished he could just stay in bed, but nature called…
"Oh. Uh, yeah, I guess that's true. I'll just wait here." The fairy was worried for him, but not so much she'd follow him to relieve himself.
Link slowly swung his legs around over the edge of the bed and silently counted down from three. When he did so, he carefully stood up, almost instantly feeling dizzy as his somewhat shaky legs just managed to support him. He hadn't stood up since he collapsed that morning, so his light difficulty was hardly a shock.
Carefully, with small steps, he approached the door as he walked on his shaky legs. It wasn't so bad that he felt he'd fall over, but he also didn't want to risk taking any bigger steps. When he got to the door, he slowly reached for the doorknob, but even being careful he managed to miss it and tap the door with his hand instead. He didn't look to see if Tatl even noticed, feeling embarrassed no matter what. Withholding a sigh, he slid his hand to the knob and opened the door.
The hallway was empty, Link hearing muffled conversation from one of the other rooms. Getting to the staircase, he gripped the railing and looked down to the bottom, feeling nervous. It was just a staircase. Not a big deal. He had faced so much worse, so he once more felt humiliated, this time simply at his feelings.
Again, he tried to be cautious, and took the descent one stair at a time. One foot at the top stair. Then the other. One foot on the second stair. Then the other. He was going down like a toddler did, too scared to do it the normal way. But he felt like he shouldn't! If someone saw him going down the stairs like it was some scary feat, it'd really make him feel awful. Taking a risk, he tried going down the staircase normally.
His foot slipped.
Link barely had time to let out a gasp, his grip on the rail slipping as he tumbled! Instinctually, he threw his arms around his head, to protect it as best he could. His body bounced and spun as he fell, the noise loud enough that everyone in the inn surely heard it! The short ordeal was an entire blur, and the next thing he knew, Link was at the bottom, his body aching all over.
The Hero of Time can't even walk, it seems.
He had no idea why, but Sheik, or rather Zelda's, words rang out in his mind as he laid at the bottom of the stairs. His entire body felt like one large bruise, but he was still able to tell he suffered no severe injuries. No broken bones to go with his missing eye.
"Oh! Are you okay?!" Anju's voice rang out, and within a moment, the innkeeper was kneeling by Link's side, placing a tender hand on his back. "That sounded like such an awful fall!"
Before Link could answer, another voice called, this time from the top of the stairs. "Link?! You're not hurt, are you?!" It was Tatl, having squeezed through the keyhole as soon as she heard the commotion. She flew down to the boy, hovering near Anju as she looked him over.
For a second, Link was paralyzed. Not from the pain, but from the embarrassment he felt. He couldn't even handle a simple staircase?! And now the two were doting over him like a helpless child. He found he couldn't answer right away, the fall taking the air out of him. After a few seconds, he managed to shake his head. "I'm fine. I'm fine…" He assured, slowly standing up and managing not to wince. While his whole body seemed to throb, it was nothing like the pain he went through upon losing his eye. "I'm sorry. I should've been more careful."
"It's quite alright." Anju insisted, still looking at Link with that pity-filled gaze that he hated so much. "Are you really sure you can move? Do you need help?"
Link really wanted to yell at Anju to leave him alone. He wanted to shout at her that he could handle himself, and that he had to go through things she could never even imagine. It wasn't like he didn't understand she just wanted to help, but it still made him so angry, and that did make him feel guilty. Normally it wouldn't get to him so much, but he was just so out of sorts…
"No. I'm really okay. I can walk." Link assured once more. He then turned to Tatl. "You can wait for me in our room, I'll be right back up."
Tatl knew Link was okay, she personally saw him take much harsher abuse and get right back up. On top of whatever else he had to deal with in his past, a fall down the stairs was nothing. "Yeah, alright. That fall just sounded rough…" Was all she said before going back to the Knife Chamber. She knew lingering on the issue would probably just annoy Link, but she had to see if he was okay…
Ignoring Anju's concerned expression, Link slowly walked to the restroom as the redheaded woman sighed softly and went back behind the desk. After he did his business, Link paused on the walk back in the middle of the empty hallway. There on the wall was a mirror, and he realized he hadn't seen his own reflection since he lost his eye.
A white, square medical patch covered his right eye, and tiny bits of a scar poked from the top and bottom of it. His other eye was akin to a doll, void entirely of any sort of emotion or life. The shadows underneath seemed worse than ever; despite all the rest he was getting.
The boy turned his head back and forth to make sure no one else was approaching. His curiosity gnawing at him, he removed the patch and looked at what laid underneath. The eyelid closed, he was able to see a nasty vertical scar from where the Gerudo struck him, one he felt was never going to fade away. He was about to put the eyepatch back on, but he just had to see…
Bracing himself, he slowly opened his right eye, and his stomach churned at the sight.
There really was no eyeball left at all. Instead, it was simply red muscle from the back of the socket 'staring' right back at him. Even with that grizzly sight and the explicit lack of an eyeball, it still seemed so surreal that he couldn't see anything to his right. He simply had issues accepting that a part of his body was simply gone…
Despite himself, Link shuddered and quickly closed the offending eyelid and put the patch back on. He felt like he'd have to walk around with that patch for the rest of his life. No reason anyone else had to see what was under it! Still sore from the fall, Link went up the stairs nice and slow. He really made sure to grip the rail hard and took his time more, having both feet on each step before he went to the next.
When he opened the door, Link saw Tatl hovering there, clearly waiting for him. "Before you ask, I'm fine." He said as he closed the door, so very sure Tatl would ask about the fall. "I'll be more careful on the stairs."
And he had guessed right. Tatl was about to ask if he was really okay, and couldn't really blame Link for cutting her off before she could even speak. "I get it, I get it." She assured, watching as the boy went back in bed. "You, uh, haven't thought of a way I could help you tomorrow, did you?"
That was actually something he thought about a bit, and it wasn't like he had any idea of how to help himself. "I want to try doing normal things over and over. Like just grabbing things." That alone was somewhat of a challenge, but surely if he kept trying, it'd get easier. "I need to be careful about my blind spot. Could you move around the room so I can try and follow your movements?"
It was always a bit weird when Link said so much at once…but Tatl shrugged that thought away. "Yeah, I mean I asked for a reason! I…really want to help, you know? I mean hey, I owe you one…you saved my life, remember?" She never forgot how he stopped a Keese from eating her and she yelled at him. Sometimes Tatl really wanted to go back in time and slap herself across the face…
Link remembered that too, he recalled how genuinely angry her attitude made him. He'd never hold a favor he did over someone's head, but being yelled at for saving someone's life had just been too much. "You don't have to think about it like that. I'd want you to help because you really want to."
Tatl couldn't help but let out a brief laugh, shaking her head. "Sure, okay. I should've known you'd say something like that. But…uh…" The fairy knew what she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure she could spit it out…but she wanted to try! "…I…uh…well, I mean, if you need help with…anything, really, you can ask me, you know? Nothing wrong with asking for help…" It felt so awkward for her, but she just wanted to do things for Link! He had done so much for her and for others, but no one ever seemed to return the favor. It seemed like Anju was the only person in Termina that went out of her way to treat him well…
Taken aback a bit, Link wasn't sure how to respond. Was she hinting at something? Tatl was so vague about what he could ask help with, so he suspected she couldn't just come out and say it. Chances were it was about opening up given her multiple attempts to get him to reveal things about his past. Just assuming that would probably make her upset, though. "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." After a pause, he kept going. "I appreciate you'd offer."
The fairy couldn't help but feel happy at Link's gratitude, even though it was given in the same flat tone that he always spoke in. But hey, it was something! She really didn't know what she was getting at when she said 'anything' but she wouldn't mind lending an ear if he wanted to open up or vent. Anyone that spoke to Link for ten seconds would realize he had a lot of issues and she wondered if he had anyone at home to talk to about them…
"Well, uh, anyway, you should get some rest. Falling down the stairs didn't exactly help." The fairy suggested, floating over to her own pillow. She wasn't tired enough to go to sleep for the night yet, but Tatl was slowly getting used to spending dull hours in the Knife Chamber…
Link simply nodded without a word and slowly settled into bed, managing not to wince at his sore body. Whenever he closed his eye, he was haunted by the image of the red, muscley socket that he now had. He tried his best to not think about anything, still reeling a bit over how drastically his life changed in such a short period.
Eventually, he fell asleep, his slumber plagued by nightmares that he forgot when he awoke in the morning…
As the rain pattered on the roof of the inn, Link was brought breakfast by Anju soon after he woke up. She had never done this before, but it was obvious why she did things differently this time. The woman asked how Link was, to which he gave a blunt, short response that he was fine. His body was still sore, and bruises had appeared where he hit the stairs the previous day.
Like the last time Link ate, Anju watched him the entire time, the fruit and berries she brought shared with Tatl. She didn't touch him again, but it looked like she wanted to say something, but apparently thought better of it and just watched on as he ate. With a quick wish that he felt better, she took the tray and left after the two guests ate their fill.
For the next few hours, Link tested himself.
As he confessed before, he wasn't entirely sure how to go about it. To him, it seemed logical that if he kept practicing the things that gave him trouble, he would improve over time just like with any skill. He started off simple, placing a bottle before him and trying to grab it like he'd normally be able to. Over and over, he found his hand missing the object or just hitting his hand against it because he thought it was farther than it really was. Trying to think of all possibilities, he moved the bottle to different places on the bed in front of him so he couldn't accidentally cheat and just memorize where it was. He even placed it on its side just to change its shape and how he'd go about picking it up.
While it sounded like a simple, tedious activity, Link found himself growing weary before too long. His remaining eye strained and ached from him focusing with it so hard, even getting a headache as the eye had to do all the work it'd normally share with its twin. He chose to ignore this and just kept practicing, sometimes swapping the bottle with something else like his hat or one of his masks just to switch things up for himself.
Tatl watched on in silence, thinking that cheering Link on would break the boy's concentration and just annoy him. He didn't seem to take basic things like compliments or motivation all too well, so she kept her mouth shut. She noticed he sometimes glanced over at her when he failed at something, and Tatl had the idea that he was embarrassed, maybe even checking to see if she'd laugh. Normally, watching a kid pick up, or fail to pick up, objects over and over would be amusing at least for the oddity of it, but not in this case! She just wanted him to succeed and improve!
Truth be told, Link had no idea if these exercises were even helping at all. He didn't expect his eyesight to ever return to normal, and he didn't think it'd improve to a more manageable level in just a few hours or even a few days! The boy just wondered if doing this over and over would actually do anything or if he was just wasting his time. He recalled how wielding a sword or using a bow came unusually naturally to him, so it had been some time since he had to practice things. Saria teaching him to play the Ocarina happened so long ago that he couldn't recall the lessons, so he was generally going blindly into this…
Link was so absorbed into his practice that he actually flinched when there was a knock on the door. As it happened, it was already a bit after noon, the time melting into itself and passing faster than he anticipated.
To the surprise of Link and Tatl, it was Anju's voice that called out. "I have your lunch, may I come in?"
For a second, Link was just surprised that Anju was even there. Every other Cycle she was out on a walk by this point. "You can come in." He called, watching the door open as the redheaded woman entered. She seemed initially confused at the sight of Link kneeling by his bed with a hat and bottle in front of him. However, she was clearly too polite to ask as she carried a tray of food into the room, with the same lunch as the previous day on it.
"It's good to see you out of bed. Well, um, you know what I mean…" Anju said awkwardly, clearly thinking about Link falling down the stairs. In fact, she looked him over, and her gaze lingered on some of the bruises on his arms and legs as the boy got back under the covers. She offered a smile as she placed the tray on his lap and sat down on the bed. "Are you feeling any better?"
That was kind of a hard question to even answer. Did one ever get better from losing an eye? The thought of it still made him sick to his stomach. "I don't really know." He answered honestly, once more tearing up some of his bread to give to Tatl. It, to his annoyance, took him two tries to even grab it.
"I see…" Anju replied, not seeming sure on how to respond to Link's non-answer. For a few minutes, there was an awkward silence as Link and Tatl ate while the innkeeper watched. Gripping her skirt, as if nervous, Anju broke the quiet atmosphere as he was finishing his meal. "Link. I'd like to ask you something important…" She trailed off, and looked at the child, but said nothing else.
It took Link a second to realize she was awaiting permission. "What is it?" He really didn't know. Nothing regarding Kafei, that was certain…
"My mother and I spoke this morning, and…we agreed to go to Romani Ranch tomorrow to evacuate." Anju explained, sounding forlorn at the concept. "We plan to invite our guests to come with us, should they want to. Would…you like to come?" Just like the last time she asked, the innkeeper placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Link was starting to get confused. Anju's schedule was just all wrong. She wasn't going on her walk, and the last time they had this talk, it was dinnertime. At that moment he at least understood why she skipped her trip to the Laundry Pool. More than when he was sick, Anju was just concerned for Link and apparently didn't want to leave his side. Maybe, somehow, this shift in her attention made Anju and her mother decide to leave Clock Town earlier? He had no idea, but he couldn't think of any other situation.
For once, Link was planning on staying until the last day, as most of the time he reversed time before that point, hating the idea of seeing the Moon so close or feeling the tremors as it approached. The shaking of the ground made it so even holing up in the Knife Chamber was enough to ease himself. Still, he was going to remain this time around because the idea of walking through a crowded South Clock Town and making his way to the inn made him feel dizzy just thinking about it.
Still, there was a part of him that found it all but impossible to simply turn Anju's offer down. As useless as he felt fleeing was, surely the Moon would destroy all of Termina, her wanting to take him to perceived safety was touching to him. People in Termina were generally either rude to him or was only nice to him if he helped first. Anju was just so different, and was always wanting to help the boy the second she laid eyes on him. This Cycle she even abandoned her walk to privately cry about her woes just to take care of him.
Once more, he had to wonder if this was what having a mother was like.
Unable to refuse Anju's offer, Link slowly shook his head. "I appreciate that. I'll go with you. When would we leave?" He felt like if he rejected her kindness, it'd truly, genuinely make her sad, and he wasn't willing to do that to her.
Anju let out a sigh of relief, giving the child a warm smile as if he had just made her day. "Good! Um, I mean I'm glad. Tomorrow, around when we usually open. That's when we'll be leaving. Is that alright?"
Even when speaking of such an important event, Anju asked if the exact time was okay with him. She was so selfless! Again, Link nodded. "That's fine with me, thank you." Her smile faltered, but only a little, as the boy didn't answer further, simply finishing off his meal.
"Thank you for your kindness. For your offer and the meal." Link said, wondering if his flat delivery made his words of gratitude lose their impact.
"Of course. It's no trouble." Anju replied, taking the boy's tray and leaving him and Tatl alone once more.
The fairy had decided to remain silent during the entire exchange, just focusing on her bread for the most part. Sometimes she liked to just stay out of things and sort of…study Link. His behavior fascinated her, especially when he was forced into a conversation with someone else. "Why did you accept the offer? You did that last time too." Tatl pointed out.
"I didn't want to make her sad." Link answered honestly, choosing to look at the door rather than his friend.
Tatl picked up that Link really took a liking to Anju, not that she blamed him. He had no problems being blunt and direct with others, and while he had done that with the redheaded woman a few times, he still treats her better than most other people they interact with. Link always defends her any time Tatl makes an insult, mostly involving her poor cooking skills. He kept insisting on helping with Kafei, and had to be talked out of dropping the case. And then he kept sparing her feelings, even though he had no issues brushing off others, even fleeing from an upset Romani on horseback…
Heck, maybe he had some sort of innocent crush on the woman, the idea of which made Tatl grin a bit. She couldn't blame him either. Anju was sweet, pretty, and very caring. Though the idea of someone as emotionally repressed as Link forming a crush was almost odd to the fairy. "Well, okay. But we're not actually going, right?"
"No. We'll turn things back before we'd leave." Going to Romani Ranch was harsh on him, so he'd avoid going there unnecessarily if possible. Just knowing he'd have to go there at least one more time to clear the Great Bay was enough to make him feel sick to his stomach…
The next few hours were like the previous few. Link spent his time working on trying to do things normally even with his missing eye. Tatl flew about the room, and Link did his best to track her movements. Following his request, she tried to enter his new blind spot as much as possible, to make it more challenging for himself. He almost felt silly, just trying to stare at the fairy as she zipped about the Knife Chamber, but he knew it was important. Any opponent he faced with the slightest bit of intelligence would go for his right side. Link had to get used to the idea of keeping an eye on that part of him as best as he could. It felt surreal, not being able to just glance and see things to the right of him like he could before. In fact, he kept trying to by sheer muscle memory.
After Tatl's aid, he simply tried walking around the Knife Chamber, sticking close to the table and chairs in the middle of it to try and train his depth perception. The boy found it was hard to tell how close or far he was from objects, and by the end of this training, he had banged his feet and shins against the furniture what he considered an embarrassing number of times. He even tripped and fell, but thankfully it apparently wasn't loud enough for anyone else in the inn to hear or feel the need to investigate. The fact Tatl saw him fumble about was bad enough…
The fairy knew this sort of thing was embarrassing, and kept any sort of comments to herself as Link moved about the room and made mistakes. No laughter or snide remarks. Normally something like this would be funny, but the context just made it tragic…
Eventually, dinner came around and Anju brought Link and Tatl more food, which was quickly consumed. The kind woman reminded the two of the early departure on their way out.
"You need another night of sleep. How about we go back early in the morning?" Tatl suggested. It had occurred to her as well that moving around South Clock Town so early after losing his eye would surely be a real struggle for him…
Link couldn't argue with that plan. He was feeling unusually exhausted given all he did all day was grab objects and walk around the room. Yet it felt like he spent all day traveling instead. Apparently he hadn't fully recovered from losing his eye and the resulting surgery. "I'll do that. Just wake me up if you're awake first."
With Tatl's confirmation, the two went to their beds. The fairy fell asleep pretty fast, but Link stayed up and thought to himself. He didn't feel like anything he did that day helped at all. It was still a struggle to just pick things up normally, and walking around the room left his legs rather sore. Keeping his eye on Tatl wasn't easy either, even when he noticed she slowed down for him. This made him wonder how long he'd have to practice these things before he was ready to go back out and try to save Lulu's eggs again. He knew if he went out there the next Cycle, or even the Cycle after that, he'd fail or even die.
There had to be something more he could do, but he just didn't know what! Getting into any sort of combat was a horrible idea and he'd surely wind up getting himself killed. Maybe Tatl knew someone that could specifically help him…there had to be someone in Clock Town that could…
A thought that burrowed into his mind was how his friends back in Hyrule would react when…if…he managed to get back. He imagined they'd all look at him with the same pity that Anju did, not even trying to hide that they felt bad for the idiotic child that couldn't do anything right. Link could tell that Zelda especially stayed up at night worrying him, there being times he noticed dark circles under her eyes. He had been so tempted to ask her about it, but not only did he know the answer, but he knew she'd just deny things. If he managed to return and she saw he was missing an eye, poor Zelda would just lose more sleep.
Saria, Darunia, Ruto, Malon…they'd all worry for him as well, trying to cheer him up or maybe wanting to do things for him because he was impaired. As kind as those actions were, the thought of them made Link feel sick to his stomach. He wished he could be more independent, but his broken mind wouldn't let him be. Zelda was equipped to help him, as guilty as it made him feel, and he wasn't ready to move to Lon Lon Ranch yet, as generous as Malon's offer had been…
Trying to force these thoughts out of his mind, Link rolled over. No point in pondering about things that might not even matter. There was the possibility he'd just never get home. As the minutes ticked by, Link's exhaustion caught up with him as his eye slowly closed and he fell asleep.
Link walked slowly down the inn's hallway. Right away he could tell something was wrong, as he couldn't see the end of it, the hall just stretching off until it was too dark to see. On top of that, mirrors lined the walls, all exactly the same and all within a foot of each other.
He found himself alone, Tatl not with him. The boy was wearing his sleeping garments from the castle, just a green gown and nothing else. As his bare feet hit the wooden floor, he glanced in one of the nearby mirrors and stopped in his tracks.
To no shock, his right eye was gone, still scarred. The lid was closed, so Link couldn't see the grotesque red muscle in the empty socket. Link felt like his feet were rooted to the floor as he stared at his scarred face. He felt the need to lean in and take a closer look, studying the permanent injury. For a minute, he just stared, not moving a muscle.
Then he felt something move.
Letting out a cry of shock, Link saw something move…underneath his right eyelid. Something small, and he couldn't tell what it was from sensation alone. All he knew was there was something in his empty socket! Panting from a mix of disgust and fear, the child leaned in close to the mirror and tried to prepare himself as he opened his eye…
Link felt his blood run cold, as he saw an orange orb there in his once-empty socket. It was the exact size of his old eye, just entirely orange. He found it nearly impossible to get a proper breath, sweat running down his face at the disturbing sight. Then it twitched.
The eye rolled forward, showing the dark green pupil of a certain god-killing parasite…
He wanted to scream, but he couldn't move an inch, not even to yell. All Link could do was stare at the eyeball as it swiveled around on its own, clearly detached from him. Without warning, he felt a sharp pain around the socket and in his head, finally letting the boy scream out in pain, but the rest of his body still wouldn't move!
In horror, Link watched as the eyeball started to grow, getting too big for the socket within moments as it started to push outwards. It turned out it wasn't just an eye, but something was crawling out with it! Pincers and a sharp carapace…Link stared as a sort of tube emerged from his socket, hooked appendages taking bits of his flesh with it as the parasite slowly moved out of him! It was the same type of creature as the one within The Great Deku Tree, just more of a cylinder in shape!
He kept shouting in agony as the freakish thing pushed itself out of Link's eye, the thing being a lot longer than should be possible if it could fit in his skull. Hooks and pincers kept cutting at Link, blood oozing down the right side of his face until, eventually, the last of the monster was pushed out and it landed on the floor with a disgusting wet slap.
Finally, Link could move, taking a few steps back as he slapped a hand over his now-empty socket. Panting quickly, he stared in shock and disgust at the wriggling parasite on the floor. Despite having no visible mouth, it kept shrieking and letting out other shrill noises as it thrashed in place. There was a temptation from Link to stomp the thing to death, his revulsion overriding his usual hesitance to kill.
However, the boy was too scared of the clearly helpless monster to get close to it. Instead, he ran down the hallway, the shrieks of the parasite ringing out so loudly it seemed like it was following him. Yet when he turned to look back, he saw it remained in place, wriggling on the floor helplessly.
As he ran, Link saw the mirrors to his left change. Or rather, what they reflected. He kept seeing people he knew in each one. Saria, Mido, Fado, Zelda, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, Nabooru, Rauru, Malon, Talon, Ingo, Anju, and numerous others who he had encountered on his two quests. They were all staring at him, silently watching as he ran down the hallway, the parasite's shrieks still ringing in his ears.
It took him only a moment to notice that each of the people he saw had orange and green eyes, just like the parasite. They didn't move, didn't emote, and said nothing. All they did was stare at him as he fled from the monster that had pushed itself from his socket.
He was so busy staring at the mirrors that he failed to notice something appearing in the hallway ahead. When Link finally noticed, he saw it was a giant eye that took up the hall entirely! From floor to ceiling and from each wall, there was an eyeball! It wasn't the eye of a parasite, no.
It was his.
A massive, dull blue eye was staring Link down as he ran toward it. With no eyelid, it wasn't able to blink, just sitting there in his path. Despite his desires to, Link couldn't stop himself from running! His legs were moving on their own! Within moments, to his further disgust, he ran right into the giant eyeball.
It didn't feel like an eyeball, as Link found it was more like some sort of sludge in the shape of an eye. He sank into it a bit, running into it at an angle so the entirety of his right half was burrowed into it. Desperately, he pressed with his left to try and free himself, but his hand just broke the eye's surface and it sank in too! Then he started to get pulled in, the lone eyeball sucking him into it!
No matter how much he thrashed, Link couldn't get free, only sinking further into his own eyeball as he cried out desperately. The shrieking of the parasite kept assaulting his ears, never having grown any quieter. As he was nearly consumed by the eye, the mirrors of the hallway started to shatter in pairs, swiftly growing closer and closer as if some force was coming at him and then-
Link's eye shot open.
He quickly sat up, panting heavily as a layer of sweat covered his body. Terrified, he placed a hand over his patch, trying to feel for some sort of unnatural movement…but there was nothing. Desperately gulping lungfuls of air, he looked over at Tatl and saw she was still asleep. It was always a worry for him that his initial reactions to his nightmares would wake her up…
His body shaking lightly, the child moved his hand from his lost eye and tried to calm himself down. He gripped at his sheets until his knuckles turned white, still panting as the sounds of a shrieking parasite rang in his ears. Didn't he suffer enough during the day? Never feeling happy, always being miserable, angry, or just numb…wasn't that enough? Wasn't the fact he couldn't do simple things on his own or look at specific things without his anxiety speaking already enough?
Did his sleep have to be so plagued as well?
Link wasn't calming down, a sense of dread, like he was about to die, bubbling in his chest. He thought, maybe, some fresh air might help him. Things felt so confined and stuffy in the room, even though it normally never felt that way. Legs shaking, he slowly got off the bed, taking another look at Tatl, who was still sleeping.
Slowly, much slower than normal, he made his way to the door, trying to see in the darkness with his single eye, only the starlight from the window to aid him. When he reached the door, he very carefully and, somehow, got the knob on his first try.
As he stepped into the hallway, Link silently closed the door behind him. No one else was out and about in the inn, and he had no idea what time it was. As long as he didn't run into anyone, that was fine by him. Yet as he was about to step outside and onto the balcony, he froze in place. There was something in the hallway with him, placed against the far wall. It wasn't a giant eyeball, or some sort of parasite either, no. It was a statue.
The only reason it startled him was because there had obviously never been a statue there before. Even in the dim light, he was able to make out exactly what it was as his legs moved on his own as he approached it. He could barely breath, his eye wide in shock, wondering if what he saw could truly be real.
It was grey, colorless a statue of three women, connected in a circle with two standing as the third floated in the air, her body curved. This woman up top has strong features, a fierce, yet not unkind face as a long mane of hair flowed behind her. On the left, the woman was more refined, a stoic and serious expression on her face. She too had long hair, enough that it went down to her lower back. Then, on the right, was the last woman, who looked more carefree and was the only one smiling amongst the three. Her hair was a bit wilder, as if she never combed it, yet it somehow had an elegance to it. Behind the three was a familiar shape. Three triangles combined together. A shape Link saw a hundred times in Hyrule Castle.
The Triforce, with the three women being the Golden Goddesses.
At first, Link had no idea how to respond. He simply stood there, staring at the terrifying sight. Slowly, he raised a hand and rubbed his eye, making sure he wasn't somehow seeing things. Yet when he looked again, blinking a few times, he still saw the statue clear as day! It was more than clear that the Golden Goddesses and the Triforce had no presence in Termina, there was no way the statue was real…and yet there it was.
Link was only able to come up with a single conclusion. This wasn't just a statue, no. It was the Golden Goddesses themselves manifesting before him! What else was there? Yet it wasn't like anything like this had happened before, so why now? Why in Termina? He was still unsure of what to do, staring at the statue and waiting for something to happen. Maybe one of the Goddesses would talk to him?
But nothing happened, Link just stood there in anticipation, but all he was met with was a deafening silence. His throat feeling clogged, he managed to croak out four words. "What do you want?" The child didn't know what else to ask. Once more, he waited for something to happen…but nothing did. The statue remained still and silent, as if he hadn't said anything. He was too scared to approach the object and see if touching it did anything.
"Why are you here? Why now?" Link prodded, his voice a bit louder and practically echoing in the near-empty hallway. "What do you want from me?" Yet despite his continued questioning, the Golden Goddesses didn't respond. Was the statue even real? Why were the Golden Goddesses showing up now of all times? Why as a statue? Link wanted to deny the statue was even there, but no mater how much he looked down the hallway, it remained clear as day…
Even though nothing was even happening, Link felt a panic rise in his chest. He swore the Goddesses were staring at him, despite how lifeless their eyes were. "Are you here to taunt me? Do you just want to mock me?" He asked, his hands curling into fists, an angry edge to his voice as he willingly tossed his mask aside. That trio of horrid beings didn't deserve the effort of keeping it up!
Of course they'd be there to mock him! They despised him, that much was clear! Link had decided this two years ago, seeing himself as nothing more but the deities' plaything. What other explanation could there be for them to make it his Destiny to save Hyrule? "Is that why you aren't saying anything? Just to make me angry? Go ahead and just say something!" Link demanded, glaring at the Golden Goddesses with his single eye, his voice raised just a bit more.
He was met with more silence.
"Don't say anything then! Fine! But you're here now, so why not save Termina? You can do it, right?!" They created Hyrule, they created the Triforce that could grant any wish. Link saw no reason why the Golden Goddesses couldn't wave their hands and stop the Moon and undo all the wrongs the Skull Kid performed. When the statue once more did nothing, Link grit his teeth. "Look at what happened to Hyrule when you let its fate be in my hands! Just do something this time! People need you!" He openly glared daggers at the statue…and yet nothing happened.
Horrible sadistic deities! Link swore they just liked to watch people suffer! Still they refused to do as he asked! Wasn't it reasonable?! Didn't it make sense for such powerful beings to save innocent people?! But once again, the fate of many relied on the efforts of a single child! "Why do you hate me so much?!" Link demanded, fingernails digging into his palms. "What did I do that was so awful?! Haven't I suffered enough?!"
The statue had no answer.
"Why do you keep taking things away from me?! When is it enough for you?!" Link practically growled, taking a step towards the statue. His mind, his life, his eye…! Was this entire ordeal in Termina just a part of his penance?! Was it somehow orchestrated by the Golden Goddesses to keep punishing him?! The boy suspected that Termina was crafted entirely to torment him, and who else would do it but the deities that had made his life so miserable?
This was a part of his second, more selfish reason he wanted to help people. The first was that he genuinely just liked to help others when he could, and that was entirely sincere. Now, though, he saw it as a part of his penance. He had failed to save Hyrule. So many of his friends died because of him. It was something he had long accepted.
But now he had a second chance. He could save Termina, and everyone in it. Link didn't know how to do so yet, but with the power to rewind time as many time as he wanted, there was no excuse this time. This was his penance, his way of making up for his past failures. With each person he helped, he was closer to righting his wrongs and could maybe, hopefully, find some peace in his life. And for this, he saw himself as selfish. Link was trying to help himself as much as he was trying to help others, even though he knew he didn't deserve help.
He found his emotions shifting wildly, having wanted to talk to the Golden Goddesses for years, but suddenly not knowing what he wanted to say when given the chance! "Please, just…stop this…" Link begged, his fists unclenching as he felt his anger evaporate. He still despised the Golden Goddesses, but their silence made it hard to hold onto his anger. "What do I have to do tot make you stop tormenting me? Is saving Termina really the only way?" The boy had no clue if this parallel world was simply somewhere the Golden Goddesses steered him toward, or if they outright created it, but he assumed the latter. "Isn't there anything else I can do? You took so much from me…"
No matter what the said, it seemed like the deities had nothing to say in response. Were they there just to listen to him struggle? "You ruined my life! Without you, I…" Link trailed off, starting to wonder if they somehow orchestrated his mother to die for him, so he could grow up with the Kokiri. There was no proof of such puppeteering, but he'd be willing to believe in just about anything regarding them. "I tried so hard…! I did everything I could and I know I failed, but can I really have no mercy? You can fix me! Everything wrong with me you can fix! Why won't you do it?!" His eye, his mind, even his life…they could surely do that for him!
Link blinked, and when he looked at the Goddesses again…they had faint smiles on their lips! "You're enjoying this! You're really just here because you want to laugh at me! I hate you! Why do you keep doing this to me?! What do I have to do to make it stop?!" He was screaming now, his voice echoing throughout the inn. "I did my best! I tried my hardest! When will you be satisfied?! When-" He stopped as he blinked once more.
The statue was gone.
Startled, Link looked around…but the statue wasn't anywhere. Not that there were many places for it to even hide, of course. It…really seemed to be gone. Once more, the boy found himself drenched in sweat as he panted heavily. No statue. No noise around him…in fact, the lack of noise was really unusual. It was only then that Link truly realized just how loud he was being, yelling loudly at the Golden Goddesses! Yet…the inn was silent. No one was checking to see what all the noise was about. There was no way that everyone in the inn managed not to hear that! Tatl and Anju would especially check in on things if they heard him screaming in the middle of the night…
Was any of that real? It made no sense that nobody was investigating all of that noise! Yet, as he stood there waiting, there was only silence and darkness around him. Had that been a dream? He pinched his arm, and he felt the pain clearly, so he wasn't asleep at that moment for sure. With all the nightmares he had over the last two years, he had never done so while sleepwalking before, so that didn't seem right either. If it wasn't a dream, and it wasn't real…what was it?
Maybe he was just going insane.
Link felt sick to his stomach, and abandoned his plan to get some fresh air. He was terrified, looking over his shoulder multiple times on the short walk back to his room, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary. When he peeked inside the Knife Chamber, he saw Tatl was still asleep on her pillow. Was she really asleep? Did she maybe just…pretend not to hear? But surely she'd investigate if she heard him screaming at someone…right?
Gulping lightly, Link gathered his Courage and lightly gave a "Tatl?" and observed. The fairy didn't stir. If she was pretending to be sleeping, she would've surely answered his call, wouldn't she? Really, he was scared of the idea that she heard any of that, but a bigger part of him had to check.
Slowly, he closed the door behind him and crawled back into bed, unsure of what just happened. Did the Golden Goddesses really visit him? If so, what did they want? Did they just want to see how miserable and broken he was? If that hadn't actually happened…then what was wrong with him? Was he crazy? His mind was already so shattered, could he afford to get any worse?
Even though he was scared to, Link closed his eye, his heartbeat drumming in his ear. He thought that as he lied there, eye closed and vulnerable, something further might happen…but it never did. As was usually the case, his exhaustion eventually caught up with him and despite his mind racing, Link fell asleep…
"You sure you're okay?" Tatl asked as Link gathered his things. She thought he looked a bit paler than usual, but his usual mask did little to clue her in on what was wrong. This was the second time she asked since the two woke up, Link insisting he was fine the first time.
"I'm sure." The boy assured as he got his stuff together. According to Tatl, it was only a bit after six. Might as well turn back time as quickly as he could. "I've been thinking. I need to train for battles…is there anywhere like that in Clock Town?"
Tatl decided to just chalk Link's demeanor up to not being fully recovered. At his request, she nodded, though her light hid the action. "Yeah, actually. I'll show you tomorrow. I'm ready when you are."
Link stared at the Ocarina of Time in his hands for a second, pondering last night. He was able to remember it so vividly…though that didn't necessarily mean it wasn't a dream. There were some, usually horrid nightmares, that he could recall every last detail of. The boy knew pondering on it wouldn't help at all. In the end, it didn't matter if it was real or not, it didn't change his situation. The Golden Goddesses would never directly aid him, and he felt silly for begging them to do so.
Trying to block out the events of the previous night, Link slowly played the Song of Time, reversing time once more.
A/N: Not much in the way of story progression here, I know. Mostly just angst and a nightmare or two. I do so enjoy writing out nightmare sequences, especially one like I got to do in this chapter. The sequence in the hallway was also something I was looking forward to doing for a god while. I will say that there will be at least the start of more sidequest stuff in the next chapter, and I promise Link will get at least one new mask before going back to the Great Bay again. Don't want his recovery time to not further anything at all. I don't have anything else to say in particular this time, so I just hope you all enjoyed the chapter.