My second fan-fic. To go with my Mario story, I thought I'd try my hand at a Link tale, andbegan by contemplatinghow exactly Link would feel, knowing that the future of Hyrule rested with him.
This story is more serious than my other one (far more serious), is set in the world of The Ocarina of Time, and features a teenage Link.
I do not own any of these characters.
Chapter 1: A True Hero?
The pale moon hung in the sky majestically, its light falling to the earth and making the shadows of trees stretch in elongated shadows across the ground. A strong wind howled through the branches of the trees, bending some of the smaller, more fragile plants to one side. Far off on the horizon dark clouds gathered, and the occasional streak of lightning brought with it the promise of rain to come.
Link, slouched on the grassy earth with his back to the trunk of a magnificent oak, shivered slightly. Hyrule sure was chilly tonight.
The teenager sighed and rubbed his cheek absent-mindfully with the back of his right hand. Lowering his hand, he brushed it against his neck and allowed his head to lean to the right, closing his eyes and taking some comfort in the feel of the sensation of his hand resting against his skin, as a child might do with his blanket.
At the moment Link did not look like any civilized child however. His face was streaked with splotches of mud, his green shirt ripped in places, and his pale trews faded with wear. Dirt, grime and dried blood all mixed together to create a bizarre type of camo.
In the distance arose the blood-thirsty cry of a wolf, followed by echoing howls from the members of its pack, and Link's eyes snapped open.
Quickly, he pulled his short sword from the sheath that was strapped to his side, and rested the tip of the sword in the soft earth beside him, ever mindful of the fact that many wild wolves in Hyrule had become accustomed to the taste of human flesh and blood.
Panting slightly, he scanned his surroundings. He was resting in a small ring of trees that was surrounded by empty plains all around. Beyond the plains, thicker forests grew in patches.
He looked to his right, where his horse Epona stood, nervously pawing at the ground with one hoof.
"Easy girl," he said, allowing his voice to appear soothing. He had found that it was not what you said to horses but how you said it that counted.
The horse calmed slightly.
Link sighed and rubbed at his forehead tiredly. He had told himself that he was just going to rest for five minutes and then would resume traveling to the nearest town to find an Inn he could rest at, but for some reason he felt too drained and exhausted to get up.
His stomach growled noisily, the hunger pains reminding him that his last proper meal must have been some days ago.
He knew he had a lot to do: he had to feed himself and his horse, get some rest, maybe buy some more equipment with whatever money he had left, and then he had to resume his quest to bring peace to Hyrule.
He chuckled mirthlessly. The idea that the fate of the land rested on his shoulders, a teenager of just fourteen, still amused him.
Sure, so far he had done okay-he was still alive, had a horse of his own, could fight well enough to defend himself, and had visited many parts of the land, but...
But it was all so hard. And he was alone.
Every day he woke up in some shabby Inn, or in some rocky field somewhere, wondering if this would be his last day alive; if the adventure would end here. He could feel the hopes and wishes of all the people of Hyrule on his shoulders, and he just knew that sooner or later he was bound to mess it up, and would let everyone down. As for finally facing Ganondorf, the menace that was threatening to plunge Hyrule into darkness? He couldn't do it.
How was a teenager supposed to go up against a Gerudo, a grown man, a powerful fighter?
He half wished that he could somehow give up his quest, or pass it on to someone else, someone more capable. Suicide had even entered his mind several times.
He shifted his weight against the bark of the tree, trying to push the thought of suicide from his mind. He was not so down to seriously contemplate that yet.
But he sensed that, if things went on like this, he would eventually do something that would cause his quest to end. Anger suddenly flared up in him. It wasn't fair! Why should he, alone, have to do this?
Shaking his head bitterly, he told himself to cut it out. Thinking thoughts like this always caused him to circle around the problem endlessly, with no clear solution to it in sight.
The wind picked up even more, its icy breath running along the back of his neck and causing him to tighten his body up. It was obvious to him now that he was not going to get to the town tonight; he could not bring himself to mount Epona and brave the weather, especially if it was about to storm.
Epona whinnied and pawed the ground once more, as if she was signaling to Link that they should get going.
"Sorry girl," he muttered. "Looks like there won't be a roof over our head again tonight."
Link looked around, searching for a good place to make camp. There seemed to be none-the forests were too far away to ride to before the rain hit, and empty fields were the only other location he could see. It looked like his small clump of trees would have to do him for the night.
Link reached for his traveling bag, opened it, and examined the odds and ends inside. He had an old blanket, a rudimentary sleeping bag, some mushrooms he had found the other day, his boomerang and bow-and-arrow, his Ocarina, and one round bomb he had saved for emergencies. His sword and shield were always with him on his body.
He was about to unpack his sleeping bag when Epona bucked up wildly, her eyes wide with fear and her nostrils flaring. Wolves! Link thought instantly, and whirled around quickly, his eyes searching the bases of the surrounding trees for movement.
Then he spotted it: a solitary wolf slinked out from a near-by tree, its teeth bared in a threatening growl. The creature was taut and skinny; it was little wonder it had the nerve to attack a human, Link thought-it looked half-starved.
Link's survival instincts kicked in, and he reached for his sword with his right hand as the wolf sprang forward with a vicious snarl, bounding towards him. With his left hand he reached behind his back and grabbed his wooden shield, bringing it around in front of his body as the wolf leaped through the air.
The wolf slammed into Link's body, with his shield thankfully taking most of the impact. The force of the impact and weight of the wolf's body caused Link to fall backwards, the wolf on top of him.
Snarling and clawing, the wolf sought Link's neck, trying to get in around his shield to deliver a killing bite. Link swore and tried to move his shield up to cover his face more, grunting in pain as the nails of the wolf dug into his legs.
Anger flared, and Link brought his sword around the shield to deliver a heavy blow to the wolf's head with the face of his sword. The wolf yelped and slid off of him, and Link scrambled to his feet, holding his shield out in front of him and backing away from the canine.
Un-deterred, the wolf sprang forward at Link again, its jaws snapping shut on the edge of his shield. Link saw his chance to attack, and with a cry he brought his sword around in a sweeping arc right into the neck of the wolf. Blood sprayed up, and the wolf slumped to the ground, almost ripping Link's shield out of his hand.
Panting, Link wiped some blood away from his eyes and wasted no time in checking his surroundings once more. Wolves usually traveled in packs, but Link hoped this particular wolf had been an outcast of his pack.
He spotted more shapes slinking around the trees in the distance, and cursed his luck. With fumbling fingers he bent and tied his bag back up, hoisting it over his shoulder. He sheathed his sword, hooked his shield back onto his back, took a running jump and vaulted up onto Epona's back, who was beside herself with fear.
"Gee up!" He commanded, as the rest of the wolf pack bounded forwards, their red eyes glowing in the dark.
Epona needed no convincing, and took off at a full gallop, bursting out of the line of trees and into the field.
Link looked back over his shoulder to see some ten wolves give chase. Epona could easily out-run them, but wolves have more stamina then horses, so if the wolves were hungry and desperate enough they could chase them through-out the night, Link figured.
He unslung his pack and carefully removed his small bow along with a quiver of arrows. The pack returned to his back, he fitted the quiver under one shoulder, feeling burdened by all his equipment.
Making sure his legs were gripping Epona tightly enough, he fitted an arrow to his bow, turned back towards the wolves, and closed one eye to help his aim.
He felt Epona jump some object, and his grip on the arrow faltered, causing him to release it prematurely. He watched the arrow shoot almost straight up in the air; a huge miss.
Gazing back down, he saw with relief that the wolves had slowed their chase. They were clear!
His feeling of relief vanished however, when he saw the reason why the wolves had stopped chasing him: they were circling a cowering human who was lying in the field directly behind them
Link felt confused. Where had the person come from? Then he remembered that Epona had jumped something he hadn't seen-they must have somehow almost ridden down a person!
Feeling guilt and apprehension, he knew he had to go back for the person. Sure, he was unsure of himself in his abilities and his quest, but he knew his morals would never let him leave someone behind to be massacred by a pack of wolves, especially when he had unknowingly led the wolves straight to the person.
He tried to get Epona to stop, to turn around, but she wasn't cooperating.
"Come on," he begged. "Someone's going to be killed!" He pulled harder at the reins.
Finally, Epona yielded and turned in the field, and Link shouted triumphantly and spurred his feet into Epona's side. He would apologize to her for the rough treatment later.
Epona, as if sensing the urgency of the situation, rode faster then Link thought she was capable of, and the wind whooshed roughly through Link's hair, causing his green hat to be blown away-he felt slight annoyance but knew that saving the person's life was much more important than his hat.
They were drawing closer to the fighting wolves, and Link saw to his relief that they had yet to kill their prey, and were instead scrabbling amongst themselves, obviously believing the prey as good as caught.
The wind brought the sound of screams to him-the person was a girl, by the sound of the voice. He had long since hastily put his bow and arrows away, and now he reached down and yanked out his sword, the noise of steel ringing through the air.
There was no time to keep his distance and try to shoot the wolves with his arrows, he knew. It was dark and windy, which already caused his aim to be off, and if he kept missing his targets the girl was doomed.
Nor could he ride in and try to grab the girl on his way through without stopping and dismounting from Epona- she was lying on the ground, too low to be swooped up, and could even be trampled accidentally.
No, this called for a wild attack-he would have to get in close and get messy. His stomach churned as Epona reached the outer wolves. It was now or never.
He pulled on the reins so Epona could slow slightly, but she was still flying along as he leaped from her back towards the ground with a cry, falling towards one of the wolves that was snarling at, his sword raised high above his head with two hands.
His sword cleaved through the skull of the wolf with such an impact that Link was forced to let go of the sword and roll forward along the ground, coming to a stop next to the girl who was cowering on the ground, making sobbing noises.
He got up shakily, his feet ringing from the impact of the ground, and looked around wildly. The rest of the pack did not seem to be too happy with him dropping back in on them, he thought, judging by the way they were snarling and gnashing their teeth.
Epona was galloping away into the distance, and Link felt glad that whatever happened to him the horse would not have to perish as well.
He brought his shield forward in front of him, and cast a glance back to where his sword lay, still embedded in the skull of the unlucky wolf.
Now what was he going to do? He thought miserably.
One grey wolf leaped at him suddenly, and he brought the shield down just in time to bat it away.
"Get up!" He said frantically to the girl, and thankfully she did as he said without protesting, climbing shakily to her knees. It was too dark to get a good look at her face, and he was too busy keeping an eye on the wolves.
"Walk with me!" He instructed, taking her right hand in his left.
Slowly they edged towards where his sword lay, the wolves still circling them and growling. One rushed forward with a snarl, causing the girl to scream in alarm.
Link kicked out a foot and caught the wolf under the jaw with the base of his boot, halting its attack.
The two of them side-stepped for a few more meters, and finally Link's sword was at their feet. He handed his shield to the girl, who took it with shaking hands, and bent down to retrieve his sword. He pulled hard on it, but it didn't budge at all, being too firmly wedged into the skull of the animal.
The wolves, sensing weakness, sprang forward as one, while Link was still desperately trying to heave out his weapon.
One of the animals sunk its teeth into Link's leg, and he cried out in pain, but refused to let go of his only weapon. The girl bashed at the creature's head using his shield, but the wolf just snarled more loudly and hung on.
With one final heave the sword came lose, and Link turned and, using both hands, sunk it deep into the spine of the wolf that was latched onto his leg.
The animal shuddered and fell still, and Link, now free of the animal, jumped in front of the girl, swinging his sword wildly in a frenzy and screaming in pain and anger.
Blood splashed onto the grass in the clearing as his sword bit into the wolves time and time again, until Link felt himself tiring.
During a lull in the battle he did a quick head-count. Four wolves remained, now even more determined to bring down this monster of a prey.
Link allowed his sword arm to drop, panting heavily, his shoulders heaving up and down as he tried to suck in more air in exhaustion.
The wolves readied to attack, but suddenly Epona was behind the animals, rearing up wildly and thrashing out with her hooves. She knocked one to the ground, and finally the remaining wolves dashed off across the field towards the forest, yelping in defeat.
Link's sword fell from his numb hand as he gazed in disbelief at the scene of carnage around him-approximately seven wolves lay dead.
Gasping in air, he turned to the girl finally, who was still clutching his shield and crying softly. What a sight he must look, he thought wryly; covered from head to toe in wolf blood, his eyes bearing a slightly crazed look from the battle lust.
Numbly, he realised that the girl was holding out his shield for him to take.
"Thank you, Link," the girl stuttered. "You saved my life."
Link took the shield and frowned. Was he that recognizable even without his hat?
He peered at the face of the girl, and gasped.
"I know you!" He said. "You're Malon, of Lon Lon Ranch."
Malon nodded, laughing slightly through her tears. "I'm happy you still remember me," she whispered.
Link looked around. He had endless questions for the girl, but he knew that they had to find some shelter-if they were attacked again he wouldn't be able to defend himself or Malon.
"Come with me," he said, taking her smooth hand in his rougher one.
At last, it started to rain.
Aaand there it is. If you liked it, leave a review, because honestly they inspire me to get the chapters and stories out quicker! Of course there will be more to come soon, because I enjoyed writing this more mature story of Link.
Malon, naturally, will feature more heavily in the second chapter.