Ludfos Bog, Evening of the Fourth Day after Hero's Day
Riph cocked his head and got up, brushing off his pants' knees. "Yeah," he said, dragging out the syllable. "I'm on the road a lot, you know that, don't you?" He chuckled. "Travelling merchants tend to travel a fair bit. I wasn't alone for all of it, though, I split from the group in Ludfos because I'm heading home and they're not. Why does it matter?"
Link swallowed. "There's a monster outbreak," he said. "You can't be on the roads on your own. You can't!"
Riph paled. "How... how bad an outbreak?" he stammered, "We never saw anything!"
"Bad!" Link replied. "You can't just walk your mules home, Beginning is a solid three days walk from here. You can't!" He concluded, making an horizontal cutting motion with his hand.
"More like four days," Riph replied. He sighed. "I'll be careful. I swear, I'll be careful. Don't worry, okay? I'll even run and leave the mules if I have to. I hope I don't, obviously, but..."
"NO," Link said. "You're not walking back! I'm taking you."
Saying so, he fished a green potion out of the pouch at his belt and drank it.
Riph's brow furrowed. "Okaaay... one, how in the world would you? Magic, I take it, but... what magic? And two, do your parents let you tell THEM what to do?"
Zelda said nothing. Considering the circumstances, she was not at all inclined to protest the Hero doing whatever he felt was necessary to keep his uncle safe, even if he'd neglected to consult her at all. Besides, unlike Riph, she thought she knew what magic Link had in mind and if she was right, bringing the man safely home would hardly be a detour at all.
"Link... Do you intend to create a song to lead us back here?" She asked.
Link turned to her. "That is indeed my intent, Princess. With your permission, of course," he added hastily.
"By all means," Zelda said. "Since creating the song is magically draining, it's just as well that you're doing it now... you'll have the night to rest. We will stay in Beginning for the night and travel back here tomorrow morning."
Link nodded. "Thank you, Princess."
Riph was still frowning. "Are you planning on using some kind of instant travel magic to bring us all to Beginning?" Riph asked Link. "Like in the legends?"
Link turned back to him and nodded again. "You can't keep traveling on foot. It's too dangerous."
"Don't you think that's MY call, kid?"
Link scowled. "I will grab you by force if I have to," he said. "I'd rather have you alive and angry than dead."
Zelda's eyes widened. The Hero's voice was like steel. She wouldn't have guessed, a few minutes earlier, that Link was even capable of being so forceful.
Riph was startled too, but his eyebrows suddenly shot up. "That's what Garm meant when he said you were really stubborn, isn't it?" he laughed. "Ah! Your Dad really got what he had coming to him, marrying your mom. You're JUST like her!"
Link was not to be distracted. "This won't take long. Don't go anywhere, I'm NOT letting you leave alone."
Riph laughed harder still. "Yes, Mr. Hero Limsy Junior Sir!"
Link's cheeks darkened, but he nodded and took out his ocarina to start working on a new travel song.
Riph wiped the tears from his eyes and turned to the Princess, bowing deeply. "I am truly sorry to be so troublesome, Princess."
"On the contrary," Zelda said. "Do you not realize the weight you've lifted from your nephew's shoulders? The fact that we will now be able to sleep in a bed rather than camp out here is also entirely thanks to you, so you have my gratitude twice over. Please stop bowing."
Riph straightened but bowed his head again before looking back at his nephew, who had his eyes closed and was muttering something with the ocarina held close to his chest. HIS nephew, doing magic of all things. And the Master Sword on his hip, and when he'd been telling Riph in no uncertain term that he was being magically transported home whether he liked it or not, a gold triangle had briefly glowed on Link's hand, too.
Riph was going to kick Garm's ass SO hard. It was one thing to hide who the Hero was from most people, but from the kid's own family?
He didn't have much time to dwell on it: Link suddenly brought the ocarina to his lips and played a few notes. The tune caused Riph's eyes to crinkle in a smile: it was the first few lines of an old lullaby from the old country, about sleepy little frogs. The elders had passed the song down to Riph's generation and their bunch were now doing the same to their own kids. Garm and Limsy had obviously been no exception.
Sparks of soft green and blue light surrounded Link, and more of the song could be heard, the sound seemingly coming from the light itself.
Link nodded, apparently satisfied, and walked away a few steps before playing again. The light and music appeared around him again, but vanished to reappear where he'd been standing earlier, along with Link himself.
Link stowed the ocarina and took out the Safe Journey book, opening it as usual at a random page. He read through the names of the various peaks and craters on Death Mountain before putting it away again.
"Princess Zelda?" He said. "May I teach you the song?"
Zelda smiled. "No need, I know it well. My mother always insisted on exposing us to music and art from all the people of Hyrule, and The Froggy Lullaby was once my favorite."
She took out her ocarina and played the song the way Link had. Light and music exploded around her, and she found herself standing next to the Hero.
RIGHT next to him.
She blushed furiously and hurriedly stepped back. "My apologies!" she exclaimed. "I..."
The Hero's cheeks had darkened too, but he smiled. "No need to apologize, Princess. Was the song truly once your favorite? My parents sang it to me every night for many years."
Riph was smirking. "That is SO cute," he said. "You STILL visibly blush. That used to get you so many coos and pinched cheeks, remember?"
This of course only caused Link to flush harder, which in turn caused Riph to burst out laughing. Zelda quickly turned away and busied herself repacking her saddle bags to hide her mouth twitching.
Teaching the Princess the song to Beginning was, as had been the case with the Market Song to Maritta, a breeze: she was playing it right on her third try.
With one man, two horses and two mules to transport, it was immediately obvious that two trips would be needed. Riph had sworn that his mules would be fine alone for a few minutes and had tied them to a nearby tree, which left just the horses and Riph himself to bring along on the first trip.
The mules had been oriented to be looking away from them, and hopefully would not be spooked by the light and the sudden disappearance of three persons and two horses. They'd been around loud music before, so that wasn't as much of a concern.
Link grabbed hold of the horses with one hand, as he had before, and paused. He could get Uncle Riph to hold on to him, but the positioning would be tricky and it would make it a lot harder to keep Butter and Poe under control when they arrived.
"Mr. Riph, your hand please," Princess Zelda suddenly said, extending her own hand towards Link's uncle.
Link's eyes widened. Forcing the Princess to hold on to a virtual stranger to transport him with herself had not at all been his intention. "Princess..." he started.
"This is not open for debate," she said brightly. "I need you to keep Poe under control, and by extension Butter. Mr. Riph is coming with me so that we can both stay out of your way."
Link swallowed, but nodded. "Thank you, Princess," he said, "for your indulgence and your precious assistance both."
She smiled at him. "You're very welcome. Mr. Riph?"
After a bit of hesitation and awkward repositioning, Riph was finally in position, his arm looped around Zelda' elbow as she brought her ocarina to her lips.
"On three," she said. Then: "One, two, three."
The Hero and the Princess played in harmony and the light and music enveloped them both.
Town of Beginning, a short while later
"Huh, they didn't mind that nearly as much as your fancy horses," Riph said.
Link and Zelda were just back with Riph's mules, and Link's uncle's assessment was right: the mules were fidgeting a bit following the magical change of scenery they'd just witnessed, but on the whole, didn't even look like they needed soothing.
The horses, on the other hand, had lost their minds again and had needed soothing for several minutes again. Zelda had moved in to help this time: she knew where to safely stand now, so she took over the soothing babble and pets to Poe and sealed the deal with an apple in the end, much like Link had done both times they'd travelled to the woods near Maritta.
Link tutted at his uncle, clearly insulted on behalf of the horses. "It's getting darker fast, they probably can't really see that everything around changed completely. You haven't moved house, have you?"
Riph barked a laugh. "It's nothing against your horses, kid. Mules just aren't as nervous as horses in general. And no, we haven't moved. Where are we, exactly?"
"The abandoned mill," Link said. "The street is just behind those trees," he added, pointing to a nearby line of trees growing close together.
He then turned to the Princess. "Princess Zelda, would you allow for us to accompany my uncle home so that I may see my aunt and cousins? They would likely be upset were I not to."
She noted again, with a pang, the contrast when he switched from speaking casually to his uncle to speaking formally to her. The change in phrasing and vocabulary wasn't even the worst part of it: his voice changed, too, becoming distinctly slower and smoother, all sharpness and most intonations gone.
"Of course," she said. "Perhaps they may even be able to recommend an Inn. Or do you know one already?"
"I'm afraid I don't, Princess," Link replied with a small smile she barely caught in the growing darkness. "I don't come here as often as I would like and when I do, I usually visit with relatives. My father has two brothers and one sister, and they all still live here."
"So your father is from here originally?" she asked. She furrowed in her saddle bag as she talked, and extracted her Sheikah lamp again.
"Yes, Princess, he is," Link replied. "With your permission, might I suggest we use my lamp rather than yours?"
She blinked at him. "Are you worried the light will wake some people up?" she asked.
"Yes, or attract them," he replied. "I fear that our presence here being known could cause delays."
She nodded and stowed her lamp away again. Link took his own out of his pouch and lit it. Riph also produced one from the packs on his mules and between the two traditional lamps, they had just enough light to see where they were going.
"Olica!" Riph called out after opening the door. "I'm home! And we got company!"
He stepped aside then, allowing Link and Zelda inside. Poe, Butter and the mules were already in the side yard, with water and feed to share.
Zelda positioned herself a step behind Link, feeling like she should not be the first person Riph's wife would see.
A petite woman, her skin a shade darker than Link's and her hair arranged in an intricate pattern of braids done tight to her scalp, emerged from a room off the entrance of the house and rushed into Riph's arms. "Thank Nayru!" she exclaimed while crushing him.
"Pump…kin?" Riph said. "Er…"
"I wasn't expecting you for days! And there's a monster outbreak! How DID you get here so… oh my Goddess, is that LINK?"
Link waved and smiled. "Hi Auntie," he said. "I'd like a hug too when you're done with him? I've been worried for you." He cleared his throat and stepped slightly aside, exposing Zelda. "Aunt Olica, Uncle Riph, may I please introduce Her Royal Highness, daughter of the Hylian King, Princess Zelda of Hyrule? Princess, please allow me to introduce Riph and Olica of Beginning. I apologize, it just occurred to me that I forgot to actually introduce Riph up until now."
Olica's eyes were wide, but she let go of her husband and dropped into a curtsey. "Princess Zelda," she said. "It is an honor. But how…"
She looked at Link, and her eyes strayed to his hip, where the Master Sword and its distinctive sheath were. She turned back to Riph and scowled.
"Did YOU know about this?" she asked.
Riph sighed and shook his head. "Got dibs on punching Garm in the nose. He's MY brother."
"Oh, Link," Olica said, stepping over and gathering him in a hug. "You poor dear… why didn't you tell us? We could have helped with something, I'm sure!"
"We were trying to keep where I was secret," Link answered. "I'm sorry, but it wasn't Dad's idea. Please don't punch him?"
Olica chuckled and released him to turn to the Princess again. "Your Highness, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but this is such a shock…"
"You weren't rude at all…" Zelda started.
"Olica!" a voice came from the room Olica had been in.
Riph and Link's eyes went wide and met each other's.
"Link is here, Mom!" Olica called back. "You know, Garm and Limsy's? And…"
An older woman, her hair more white than black and braided identically to Olica's, emerged from the same room Olica had come from.
"Link? Good. Been meaning to have a chat with YOU, boy. I happen to know you're not learning any job yet."
Link swallowed. "Great Aunt! Thank you for worrying about me, but first, I really need to…"
"Why are you with a Hylian girl?" the woman asked. "For crying out loud, boy, are you TRYING to be an embarrassment? You're handsome enough, you should have no trouble getting a proper girlfriend."
"Princess Zelda," Link said hurriedly, "Might I introduce Giner of Beginning, mother to Olica and my Great Aunt? Great Aunt Giner, please allow me to introduce…"
"Princess Zelda..." Giner said, interrupting him. "And it's just the two of you." She scoffed. "I'm no fool, kid, I see now why you haven't been learning a job, you got one dumped on you by the Hylians when you were just a boy, didn't you? Poor kid…" she shook her head. "You're wasting your time, Link. I'm not saying the Royal Highness can't be a Princess, it's none of my business, but I read this land's history a LOT, and we can't have a Dark Age without a REAL Princess. Farore must like you, which is high praise, but you won't find an enemy to fight. Now, your aunt's brother, my son, runs a tavern here. And he's looking for help. You could have a job as soon as tomorrow! Nice strapping lad like you, you'd be perfect!"
Zelda found herself completely frozen in shock. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that Link was not faring any better: he was staring at the older woman with wide eyes and mouth agape, his hands twitching.
Link's heart was hammering painfully, his ears were buzzing, and his hands were trying to close into fists. He hadn't even heard the last few things his Great Aunt had said past her insult to the Princess. He was furious, and he was more embarrassed than he could ever remember being, and he was obviously not going to demand an apology from an ELDER, not in any way that would actually work on Aunt Olica's mother, but he couldn't just STAND here and do nothing…
He turned to Zelda and crossed his arms, bowing his head. She deserved an apology, and he was the one who had wanted to come to this house, and he couldn't bear not doing SOMETHING. The fact he was absolutely not allowed to bow to her properly was, right now, downright painful.
"Princess Zelda," he said. His voice was shaking, he was absolutely burning with rage, both at his aunt's mother and at how powerless he felt. He inhaled deeply. "I am deeply sorry for causing this unpleasant encounter. I would be eternally grateful if you could…"
"STOP," she cut him off.
The tone left absolutely no room for argument, so he stopped.
"You're not at fault for this," she continued much more gently, "and I am not so fragile as to be wounded by a few unkind words." She turned to Riph and Olica. "It was a pleasure to meet you both, truly. Would you be so kind as to recommend an Inn where we could spend the night?"
"The Quiet Rest, just up the road, Princess," Riph said.
"I know where to find it," Link said. "Thank you, uncle Riph, aunt Olica. I am so, so glad you're all right. The twins…?"
"They're good. Asleep," Olica said, focusing on his nephew a bit more than was strictly necessary.
"No thanks to your racket," Giner piped in. "Are you just going to ignore me now, just because I don't do pretty lies for royalty?"
Link did not so much as glance her way. "I'll see them next time then," he said. "Princess, thank you for your patience. Shall we be on our way?"
Zelda nodded. "Yes. Mr. Riph, Mrs. Olica, once again, well met." She turned to Olica's mother. "Madam."
She then turned on her heels and let herself out. Link followed, abstaining from even looking at his Great Aunt again lest he accidentally snarl at her. He'd write to her later to see if the bridge she'd just burned could be repaired.
Tabantha Archery Contest, Still the Evening of the Fourth Day after Hero's Day
Remiss sighed as he sat on the edge of his bed. The first candidate he'd talked to, that female guard with the wonderful speed and accuracy, had been among the most self-entitled people he'd ever had the displeasure to meet. He'd asked her whether she felt her skills were put to good use by her duties as a guard, intent on asking her whether she ever had to urge to do more, and she'd gone on a rant about every shift or aspects of her work that she didn't like, and about how she should get a higher pay grade for her skills, and various other complaints on how she was not being treated like Hylia's gift to Hyrule. She'd complained particularly bitterly about being expected to fight with a sword when needed, feeling like her archery skills should be valued enough to keep her on the ramparts at all time.
He'd flagged two more likely heroes in the following rounds and they'd been no better: one was a hobbyist who had literally recoiled at the idea of shooting animated targets – Remiss had asked about monster hunting – and the other was so morally corrupt that Remiss intended to report him so someone could make sure he wasn't actually going to endanger people.
"How did YOU do?" he asked Shade.
The Sheikah was sitting on her own bed and reading the newest Hyrule Watch.
"Vindicated, I suppose," she said. She raised the newsletter a bit as she said that, indicating the vindication was coming at least in part from the rumor magazine.
Remiss racked his brains to remember what she'd be vindicated about. "The rumors that Link would attend are negative?" he asked.
"They are indeed," Shade replied. "While you were observing the archers, I've conversed with many a people today, and although opinions have been very varied, nearly everyone I've talked to confirmed that the Hero had been expected to attend specifically to win the prize. I've also been able to ascertain that most people are under the impression that there is a near universal consensus that this would have been very unfair on Link's part. The opinion that this particular condemnation was nearly universal was shared even by the many who did not feel that way themselves."
"Huh," Remiss said.
"No," Shade admonished, "this is not a situation we should be reacting to with 'huh'. The reason for this is in here." She waved the newsletter more forcefully this time before holding it still again to read it out loud. "Our readers will remember that we warned them about the archery contest in Tabantha possibly being ruined this year due to the famously over competent 'Hero'," Shade paused to look at Remiss. "I don't know whether I managed to convey this, but the word Hero is in quotation marks here. Anyway," she resumed reading. "...famously over competent 'Hero' being expected to ignore good sportsmanship and to register for the contest, ensuring a blow out victory and no fun for anyone else."
"Harsh," Remiss allowed.
"It goes on for another paragraph on how Link already owns several precious artefacts and should not deprive everyone else of the chance to win one here," Shade said. "But you get the point. Now, all this is just the authors of this rag reminding everyone of what they had said before. There is an update now that, as it turns out, Link did not in fact show up."
"Yeah, I can guess what THAT is," Remiss said.
"Can you?" Shade asked. "Do go on."
"They're saying Link didn't show because the public outrage gave him cold feet," Remiss said. "Or something to that effect. I've seen it happen a few times when there's a rumor that the officers or the commanders are getting ready to do something unpopular. Whoever started the rumor will fall back on claiming it really was going to happen, but everyone protesting changed the higher-ups' minds. It feels better than admitting you were wrong."
Shade graced him with a smile. "Absolutely correct," she said. "So then… if this is an excuse commonly used by people who start rumors when those rumors don't pan out, would you say that the rumor that Link would unfairly participate in this contest was likely started by Hyrule Watch themselves?"
Remiss thought it over. "Just as likely it came from an informant and they just want to save face as much as that informant does," he said. "They MIGHT have made it up themselves, but we don't know for sure either way."
Shade rolled her eyes at him. "Either way, they are yet again denigrating Link with very little or even nothing at all to back up their claim."
"Yeah," Remiss said. "They might be trying to unmask him but going at it sideways. You see where the direct approach landed ME."
Shade gave a long suffering sigh. "I suppose our deal IS for you to give your honest opinion," she groaned. "Very well, I don't think I can gain anything by continuing on with this subject right now, except perhaps more frustration. Have YOU found anything?"
"No," Remiss said testily. "Honestly, I can't even think of a reason to stay tomorrow. I've seen everyone, talked to three candidates I thought were likely and five more I knew were long shots, and nothing. None of them are heroes, much less The Hero. The real deal is not here."
"If you still feel that way in the morning, I'm perfectly willing to move on," Shade said. She smirked. "No candidates sporting feathers, either?"
To her surprise, Remiss lit up at the question. "No, but no less than eight people are convinced they saw a bird too big to be of any known species flying about. AND…" he dug into his pack and produced a very large, slightly crumpled feather. "These have been found in the area! I bought this one off someone, but I met four other people who had similar ones!"
Shade walked over for a better look. "It IS very well made," she granted. "Quite easily mistaken for a real one if you don't know better than to believe in giant birds."
"I am literally showing you evidence of giant birds, and your response is to immediately decide that despite all appearances, it simply MUST be fake?" Remiss asked.
"You are showing me a feather. Something that people have been creating artful copies of for decades."
Remiss rolled his eyes and stowed the feather away. "Guess you're the one giving your honest opinion now, aren't you? I'll read that when you're done with it," he added, pointing at the newsletter. "Or am I not allowed to be exposed to such sinful musings?"
"Would that I could just burn their press down," Shade said. "But The Crown does not police thoughts," she quoted. "I'm more than done with it, go ahead and hurt your brains."
She tossed it to him and started on some stretches that Remiss knew from the previous night were a prelude to some kind of weird Sheikah workout involving achieving and maintaining various strange positions.
He ignored her and started reading, trying to see for himself whether there really was reason to think Hyrule Watch was targeting Link solely because he was Sea Folk, and whether the same kind of racism could be spotted in other stories.