Man, I have to say, I love writing banter between Colin and Link and assorted other people. I feel I’m reasonably pleased with this chapter. Although now I’ve forgotten all the things I was going to say about it. I stayed up all night again! This is probably bad for my skin and my mental health, but it’s okay. I’m creationing. I deal with it later.
IF THIS WERE A STANDARD NANOWRIMO I WOULD HAVE WON NOW
ELEVEN DAYS (TEN BECAUSE I DIDN’T WRITE ON THE FIRST DAY) (OR MAYBE NINE BECAUSE I MISSED ONE DAY AFTER THAT, TOO)
THIS IS A NEW RECORD FOR 50,000 WORDS FOR ME
Chapter 9: The Prince From Labrynna
He looked up from where he lay face-down on the ground to see a skeleton kneeling beside him. “Gah!”
The Hero from the past moved back. “I’m disappointed. Either you’re supposed to recognize me as an enemy and cut me down immediately, or recognize me as someone you’ve met before and not make scared noises.”
“I wasn’t scared,” Link said, picking himself up. “Why did you call me here now? I’m fighting a monster!”
“And you’re not going to defeat him with your sword,” the Hero said. “But this is as good a time as any for training. This is a spirit world. Trust me.”
“I’ve been a wolf for more than a day…”
“That’s fine. Show me how things have been coming before that.”
He went with it, and the Hero from the past showed him how to leap on very tall opponents and strike at their helmets, making very potentially lethal blows.
“So… but I can’t defeat my enemy with this?”
“If you want to jump on a charging boar and then use this move, be my guest,” the Hero said, and Link might have said he winked one glowing blue eye. “But if I were you… I’d be looking at the rest of my arsenal…”
Link scrambled to his feet. Epona was prancing a meter or two in front of him, whinnying and putting her ears back. The rumble of hoofbeats reverberated along the bridge, and he turned to see the Moblin pulling his boar around for another pass.
“Navi! My bow, and then give me a good shot!”
“You got it!” Navi cried, and his bow appeared in his hand as his little fairy flew off to hover next to the Moblin’s head. He waited, lining up his shot, and then fired. The arrow struck the Moblin square in the chest, and he lost control of his boar, which went careening off to the side of the bridge. It struck the wall of the bridge and tore a hole in the solid stone construction. Link heard two heavy splashes a few moments later.
He turned and remounted Epona. “Thanks, Navi.”
“It worked!”
Telma came riding up. “Good job! I knew that thing would be no problem for you. Let’s keep on. It’s still a long way to Kakariko.”
They were crossing the Field near Lon Lon Ranch when Link turned and looked back. There was some movement in the moonlight. “Navi, what does that look like to you?”
“It looks like… two people on horses, being chased by monsters.”
“That’s what I thought. It doesn’t look like Rana or anyone from Lon Lon Ranch, either.”
“They’re coming up pretty fast. We’ll have to fight off the monsters, I think, even if the horsemen don’t want our help.”
Link drew his sword. “Telma! Go on ahead. There’s something we need to take care of.”
“You got it, honey.”
Link turned and waited for the horsemen to get closer. They were definitely human, although it was difficult to make out what they looked like in any detail.
“Please!” called one of them as they came within earshot. “Help us! He’s hurt!”
“Help him!” called the other. “I don’t matter, just make sure he lives!”
“Hold on,” Link called back. “If you can make it to the cart up there, you’ll be fine. Navi, let’s go.”
The swarm of monsters was mostly Bokoblins on boars, firing flaming arrows at the fleeing pair. Link grimaced. If any of those arrows touched the cart, its occupants would be toast. There were also some dangerous-looking birds with hooked beaks and talons. One of them stooped on the rider further back, and he cried out in pain.
“Jakob!” cried the other rider, and Link’s own arrow was already on its way, sending death to the bird.
“Keep going, sir… Don’t worry about me!”
“Come on,” Link shouted. “I’ll keep the Bokoblins off you.” There were too many Bokoblins, and they were making a racket. Every monster in Hyrule Field would be on them. At least he hadn’t seen many Stalchildren yet. Or at all. He charged into the middle of the pack, scattering them, slicing indiscriminately with his sword. He killed a few and dismembered a few more. An arrow grazed Epona’s flank and she neighed shrilly, but their boars avoided running into her.
He was getting a bit far from the cart, and the monsters were getting past him. “Come on, Epona, fly. We have to catch them!”
One of the horsemen had paused, which meant that the other one, the injured one, had stopped as well. “Please, sir! Just keep going! The knight is doing all he can!”
“I can help him!” the other said, and the moon glittered on a slim sword. He batted away an arrow headed in his direction, standing his ground. A boar rode by him, close enough that Link shuddered in fear for the horse’s knees, but the Bokoblins riding the boar fell to the ground. The other man had a lance in his hand, but the way he held it, it wasn’t going to do him much good.
“Come on,” Link said again, riding past the horsemen. “Don’t stop now! We’re almost at the village!” To his relief, the bold horseman turned and urged his tired horse onward, and the other followed him.
Link circled around again, keeping the Bokoblins back. The gates of Kakariko were only twenty minutes away. An arrow struck his shoulder at an angle and bounced off his chainmail.
He heard Ilia scream, and raced back to the cart. A pair of birds were diving at the cart, tearing holes in the canvas with their sharp talons. The horsemen couldn’t get close enough to help… But his arrows could.
The gates were only ten minutes away. The Bokoblin crowd had been greatly thinned. Only a little more.
Epona was tiring under him. “Come on, girl, just a little more,” and he ducked another arrow.
There were the gates, and they were open somehow. But they wouldn’t stand up to a boar charge even if they were closed.
“Navi, I’m going to need some bombs across their path.”
“Here you go.”
He dropped five and hauled himself back on Epona, dashing for the gate. The cart was through… the two horsemen were through… and finally, he was through. He had just cleared it when it slammed shut, and he heard the bombs go off and the squeals of boars and Bokoblins.
He slowed to a walk so Epona could catch her breath. “Good girl. You made it.” Curious, he looked around at the gates. They couldn’t have closed on their own… could they?
He saw nothing, and turned back to the village.
The first thing he did was to help Ilia carry Ralis inside while Telma put the cart away. It was close to dawn, but he figured it was close enough to call on Renado anyway.
Renado looked as if he had been sleeping, but apparently he had been expecting them. Rana must have come back. Perhaps she had closed the gate. Why hide from him? He could understand not wanting to talk to him, but hiding from him?
He followed Renado to the hotel, and found the horsemen waiting for him.
One was injured, a young man in a uniform with scalemail and long greaves. He had been struck by an arrow in the upper arm and was also bleeding from a wound across his side. His spear leaned against the wall beside him.
The other was a tall, slim youth, with long red hair. He was also wearing scalemail, but his clothes were richer. His ears were pierced with small red rings, and he carried a sword at his side and a shield on his back. He was sitting beside his guard on the lumpy couch in the hotel’s reception area, examining his wounds.
“Hello,” Link said. “Here, I can help with that. Let’s go over to the spring.”
“Oww,” said the guard. “Do I really have to?”
The young lord clucked his tongue. “Of course you do, Jakob. It is probably magical. Maybe it has fairies in it.”
Link looked at him in surprise. “Now, are you familiar with such springs, or is that just tales of Hyrule getting around?” He put one of the guard’s arms around his shoulders as the lord took the other side.
“Both,” smiled the lord. “But where are my manners? I am Franz Jurgensson Graveling, Prince of Labrynna, and this is my loyal bodyguard, Jakob.” His smiled diminished. “My last surviving bodyguard. I used to have six, all brave men and true.”
“We would all have given our lives for you, my lord,” said Jakob, not leaning very much on Link as they walked together to the Spirit’s Spring. Link whistled for Epona, because she was injured too. “I was just the odd one out.”
“I did not want any of you to give your lives!” complained Prince Franz. “You were all important to me! Curse those monsters…”
“I’m Link, Hero of Hyrule, and this is Navi, my fairy partner, and my horse, Epona. What brings the Prince of Labrynna to Hyrule?”
They eased Jakob into the water, and he sighed in relief as the enchanted water closed his wounds. “I am just a Prince, the third one,” Franz corrected him. “I was here on a mission of diplomacy. Labrynna is not geographically close to Hyrule, yet we have been connected before. In our royal family still runs some of the blood of your knights. The last King of Hyrule, Daphnes Fairton IV, maintained good connections with us. Until he was deposed and murdered. When we next heard your Princess Zelda had taken the throne and was preparing to become Queen Zelda, she reached out to us cautiously. My father responded favourably, of course. Things progressed until it was decided that I should go in person to meet with her.”
“And you ended up in the middle of another invasion instead,” Link finished for him, mopping Epona’s flank as she stood patiently. “That Moblin was probably waiting for you, not us. That’s unfortunate.”
The Prince looked surprised. “Is that what that was? It looked rather small to be an invasion. I had hoped it was not a betrayal of some kind.”
“Zelda would never,” Navi began, and Link hushed her.
“He’s not talking about Zelda. Someone in the castle who doesn’t like Labrynnans would be more reasonable, I think. But no, Prince Franz, nothing so complicated.”
“Oh, it’s complicated,” Navi said. “Just not with court intrigue.”
Franz blinked. “Well that sounds interesting. I knew you were a knight of some kind. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Oh no,” said Jakob. “Please, tell him no. Otherwise he’ll get involved and we’ll never get out of this alive. It’s a miracle he’s survived to his twenty-fifth birthday, really.”
“You can start by helping to guard this village,” Link said. “There are a lot of children here, rescued from the monsters and far from home. The village mayor is protecting it, and my… friend is guarding it with her sword, or at least I assume she is, but I’d feel even better with more weapons involved.”
Franz nodded. “I assure you, this village will be safe as can be. Where will you be?”
“I have to go find out who has that last Fused Shadow, and take it from them. Then we can go kill the one trying to take over Hyrule this time.”
“Stop speaking in riddles,” Navi said. “Why don’t you go to bed? You’ve been up for a very long time, and a lot of that was riding and fighting. And fighting while riding. You two, would you like to sleep, or to hear the recent history of this kingdom?”
“Sleep,” said Jakob.
“Yes, a place for Jakob to sleep,” said Franz. “I would like to hear your stories.”
“Follow me, then,” Link said, leading them back to the hotel.
Once Epona was set and the guard was comfortable, each in their own appropriate place, he left Navi and Franz talking in the main room and fell into his own bed.
He woke several hours later. The sun was up, but it was still before noon, as far as he could tell. His stomach was demanding attention, and so was his bladder.
With the one taken care of, he shuffled downstairs to investigate the possibility of food for the other. Colin was in the kitchen, his cast already gone, making pancakes with Beth. “Hi, Link!”
“Hi, Col,” Link answered. “Is that for lunch? How’s your arm?”
“Yup! We have some blueberries, too! To go on top. My arm’s healed! Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. Where’s Navi?” Outside, he could hear Talo yelling at Barnes. But it didn’t sound like bratty yelling. It sounded like he was doing a job. So he didn’t have to check on them.
“I thought she was watching you,” Beth said, and frowned. “Did you know she has very good fashion sense for a girl who doesn’t need clothes?”
Link chuckled. “She has hidden depths, that one. She’ll find me when she’s ready. Are our guests around?”
Colin grinned. “The Prince of Labrynna went to bed about an hour ago. He stayed up way past his bedtime! The other guy is still sleeping, too.”
“Stop calling him the Prince of Labrynna,” Beth said. “It’s annoying.”
“Well, you like calling him that too, so you can’t tell me to stop…”
“That’s true.” Beth sighed. “He’s very handsome!”
“Ew,” Colin said. “You’re such a girl.”
“You’re starting to sound like Talo. Does that mean I can call you a brat?”
Colin laughed and flipped a pancake carefully. “You can call me anything you like. You just can’t call me a coward anymore.”
“Colin, no one called you a coward before except you,” Link said. “I’m glad you finally joined the rest of us on that one. Anyway, I’m starving. Would you let me have some?”
“No!” Beth said, pulling the bowl away from him. “These all need to cook. They have raw eggs. What are you, a barbarian?”
“I like pancake batter,” Link said mildly.
“Rana came back last night,” Colin said. “You didn’t ask about her but I know you’re thinking about her.” He smiled shyly at Link. “Being your girlfriend and all. She seemed sad, though. She went out again right away and I didn’t see her at dinner. But there was a bunch of food missing this morning, so I think she did eat eventually. Why was she sad, do you think?”
Link hesitated. “Because she’s not my girlfriend right now,” he said quietly.
“Oh no!” Beth said. “Something happened?” She shook the ladle at Link. “Did you do something?”
“I told her… I needed to focus on Hyrule right now, to make sure the kingdom was safe before I could have a relationship with anyone.”
Beth sniffed. “What a stupid thing to say. I bet there’s more than that. But I won’t pester it out of you.” She shook the ladle again. “This time.”
Link shrugged. “I’m still not clear on it myself.”
Colin put a plate of pancakes in front of him and handed him the maple syrup. “Well, Dad sometimes said that the way to take a man’s mind off his troubles is to feed him. So here you go.”
“Thanks, guys.”
“I tried talking to Ilia,” Colin said seriously, turning back to the oven. “She doesn’t remember anyone. Or anything. I’m really worried.”
“We all are,” Link said. “I need to go defeat Zant first. But as soon as that’s done, I’m going to see if anything can be done for Ilia. There must be something.”
“Well, she’s really trying to do everything she can for that Zora boy. Prince Ralis? There’s a lot of Princes in Kakariko these days! At least this one’s more our age. Maybe he can play with us when he gets better.”
Link smiled. “That’s a good idea. You guys cheer him up.”
“Is he sad too?” Beth asked, with a starry-eyed look on her face.
“His mother died recently. Probably not good to ask him about it. But he has no family left now. So you guys take care of him, okay?”
“I can do that!” Beth said, with a sparkle in her eye. Link wondered if she was getting visions of being Princess of the Zoras, or anything similar.
“Do you want to see him after lunch?” Colin asked. “We can take his food to him. And Ilia. But she’ll probably be sleeping. Shouldn’t you be still sleeping too?”
“Yes, he should,” Navi said, fluttering into the kitchen. “No one’s getting much sleep these days.” And she sat down rather hard on Link’s shoulder. “She’s not taking it well.”
“Don’t guilt trip me,” Link muttered at her, shoving the last of his pancakes into his mouth, and she sighed and patted his cheek.
“He’s not going to sleep properly until Hyrule is free, you can bet on that,” Navi said. “But I’ll make him go to bed on time tonight, I promise you that. Now that we don’t have any immediately time-sensitive missions, it shouldn’t be too hard to convince him. How’s Ilia?”
Link told her.
“Well, you’re done eating, so let’s go see them.”
Renado met them at the top of the stairs with a hand raised for quiet. “They are both sleeping. Prince Ralis has passed through the worst of his fever and he should recover in due time. Do you know what became of his mother?”
“She died,” Beth said uncertainly, and Link chewed his lip and looked uncomfortable.
“It must be a grieved memory,” Renado said. “He frets for her in his sleep.”
“We’re going to stay with him,” Colin said. “Beth and Malo and Talo and I. And Ilia, I guess she won’t leave him either. We’re all going to help him not be lonely.”
“Thank you, Colin,” Renado said. “Stay here in this village with us until the time comes that you all must go home. It is time for us to display the courage you have already shown.”
Luda came to the door of the room. She smiled when she saw the pancakes, and Beth offered them to her. She took them and quietly closed the door.
Renado bowed to the three of them and went downstairs.
Link also went downstairs. Colin and Beth followed him, but they went back into the kitchen. For him, it was time to get some answers.
He stepped out onto the porch, and saw Renado had wandered down to the Spirit’s Spring. The door opened behind him and Telma stepped out.
“Thank goodness for coffee,” she said, sipping more of that hot bitter drink. “Don’t know how I’d function without it. Ah, lad, it’s good to see happy results come of your efforts isn’t it?”
He nodded, but she was watching Renado wistfully. She continued. “Those skills of yours… any mind to put them to use for Hyrule in a different way?”
Now she had his full attention. “In what way?”
“What hope there is in our kingdom… for those who know things, anyway… is frail and dying. But there’s still a group trying to do what it can. And I’m a part of that group. They meet at my bar. It’s a special place, more so for the fact that we have a secret passage into the castle itself. I’m pretty sure it was used for smuggling at one point…”
She finished her coffee and put the mug down on the porch railing. “Anyway, I’m going to stay here in Kakariko for a day or two. Keep an eye on Ilia, and, well, never mind the rest.” But Link saw her cast an eye over at Renado again. She leaned towards him abruptly, and he got an eyeful of cleavage before he managed to look her properly in the eye. “I want to see you again at my bar, you got that, honey? If you ever need anything, stop by. I’ll be waiting!” She winked at him, and danced away in Renado’s general direction.
She really was a lot taller than he was, and so was Renado. Luda was going to grow up very tall.
Thoughtfully, he went to the stable to saddle Epona. Perhaps the group there would know where the Fused Shadow was.
He arrived at Hyrule Castle in the early evening. He would have to investigate and then sleep. If he didn’t find any clues, his next idea was to go and ask the Zoras if they had any idea. Probably not. Perhaps he could ask the Light Spirit.
On impulse, he went back to Telma’s bar. The sign in the window said ‘closed’, but there was a light on, so he went in.
“Link, we’re not supposed to be in here when she’s not,” Navi said from behind his shoulder.
“It’s all right, we’re her friends,” Link said. There was a trio of people in the back of the bar, an older man in brown leather, a girl in armour and furs, and a young man in ordinary if colourful clothes with his nose deep in a book.
“Excuse me,” Link said. “Are you friends of Telma’s?”
“Are you?” challenged the older man. “The bar is closed as the proprietress is not present. I suggest you leave.” Link guessed it was not a good idea to ask about the secret passage so he could go rescue Zelda. Besides, Zant would probably jump on him before he got anywhere near Zelda, and without Midna’s help, he would probably get squashed. He had learned that much from facing Ganondorf and Majora, about trying to face enemies he wasn’t prepared for.
“I just have a question. I’m looking for a Fused Shadow. Can you tell me anything about that?”
The young man looked up out of his book at him curiously. “Is that something you get at an apothecary?”
Link winced. “I guess not. Sorry to bother you.”
“What is it?” demanded the girl. “If you came to ask Telma about it, maybe we can help you.”
“It’s…” Link considered. ‘A corrupting piece of ancient magic’ probably wouldn’t go down well, even if he followed it with ‘to defeat Zant’. “It’s a piece of ancient magic. It seems to have caused some disturbances since Zant’s attack.”
“What are you wearing?” asked the young man. “Is that a replica, an authentic replica of the Hero’s Clothes? Please, don’t tell me, did you make it yourself?”
Link flushed. “Maybe. Does that have any relevance?”
“If you’re thinking of acting like a hero, don’t,” the older man said. “You aren’t the Hero. You’ll just get yourself killed.”
Link was choking back a hysterical laugh. “All right. But you’re sure you don’t know anything about the Fused Shadow?”
“Nope,” said the girl. She glanced around at her companions. “Though if you’re looking for strange disturbances, you could try Lake Hylia. Even now that the water’s back, it’s been doing some funny things. I hope it’s not the Water Temple acting up again.”
“Just don’t get into any trouble, Mr. Hero!” said the young man, and giggled to himself. “I’m really rather jealous of your skills! I don’t suppose you’d sell your costume?”
Link smiled awkwardly. “No, no, this isn’t for sale. Thanks for your help. I’ll leave you alone, now.” He backtracked hastily out of the pub and let out his laugh. Navi joined in.
“That was the most entertaining thing I’ve experienced in a while,” he said when he had his breath back.
“Agreed,” said his fairy, and bonked him on the head affectionately.