Chapter 3 - Familiar Ground
The trees of the Lost Woods towered overhead, casting dappled shadows across
the two travellers' path. Link smiled as he looked around. His real home...
Despite all I've done, this is where I belong. Perhaps now I can start
to put things right.
"What do you think so far?"
"Give me time. It's all so new. I'm still having trouble taking this all
in. This is Hyrule, now, isn't it? Not Termina?"
"That's right. It should take us about - " he looked up at the sky, trying
to see the sun - "oh, a couple of hours to get through the forest. We'll
hit the plains by sunset, if we keep up a good pace." Link paused. "Alena
- this is deadly important. Whatever happens - you've got to stick with me.
I know my way here. You don't. The Kokiri always said that if you got lost
in the forest, you'd be transformed into a monster." There's one case
where that was true enough... "I reckon that's just a rumour. But the
forest is still very dangerous. So no matter what..."
"Stay with you. Got it."
They set off into the depths of the woods. Link glanced around him, trying
to spot any sign of Skull Kid or the fairies, but they were nowhere to be
seen. In fact, the forest was quiet. Too quiet, by half. Suspicious, he drew
his sword.
Suddenly, something moved in the undergrowth. He span around, to see what
the noise was - but nothing was there.
It was when he turned back that the trouble started...
"What do I do?" Alena stood, knife in hand, facing up to what looked to be
a snake - but no ordinary snake. This thing was almost a dragon. Link
swallowed. He'd seen one of those only once, nine years ago. A Shadowyrm,
he'd named it. It had been a tricky enough challenge even then, even for
the Fierce Deity. In other words, it had taken three attacks to destroy,
when most monsters fell after only one, Link mused. And now... There
was no way that Alena, inexperienced at fighting, would be able to cope.
"Get back, 'Lena! That thing's too much to handle! I'll take care of it!"
She stood back, and watched as Link jumped into battle.
It was simple enough to dodge the coils of the giant serpent, which lashed
around the trees and spat venom angrily. However, it was another thing altogether
to score an attack of his own... The scales of the creature were as tough
as the best Goron-smithed steel, and every blow was deflected.
The snake reared up, its head held high ready to strike. Link saw its belly
for the first time - soft and defenceless.
...Yes! I've got it!...
He plunged his sword in towards its heart. If he could do that again, the
'wyrm would be destroyed, surely...
The only problem was that the monster knew that too. It snapped angrily at
him, and dived towards his unprotected legs. He felt the searing pain as
it bit hard through the flesh... more painful than that sort of attack had
any right to be. In a split-second, he realised. Poison! How
long did he have? Damn it! I didn't come through all this to be killed
by some stupid serpent! In a frenzy, he struck again, trying to ignore
the fire that burned inside his blood.
The Shadowyrm collapsed to the floor. Weakly, Link struggled free of its
coils and walked unsteadily towards Alena.
"What's the matter? You look like..."
Link groaned. "It's poisonous. It bit me..."
Alena clapped her hand to her mouth in shock. "No! It can't have... come
on. Lean on me. I'll get you to safety." She looked him in the eyes. "You've
protected me enough times. I think it's about time I returned the favour."
"I'll be okay for now," he tried to smile back. "It's not the worst thing
that's ever happened to me."
"What was that, then?"
"Do I have to choose?" Thankfully, Link rested an arm on Alena's back, and
they set off towards the Kokiri village... or where the village had been,
before the rage of the Deity had sent it crashing to the ground...
It began to rain. At first, the trees provided shelter, but eventually the waterlogged leaves gave way and bullets of water splattered from their tips. The path through the forest slowly became sodden, as the pair made their way through the trees. Though Link hated to admit it, even to himself, he was finding it hard to move. His left leg, where the snake had bitten him, was swelling up - but he couldn't feel anything there. It could have been a block of wood, for all the good it did him. As they continued, the life slowly seeped away - as the red of blood seeped through the black of his leggings.
"Head... left... agh!" His face contorted with pain, Link continued to bark
out instructions, but weakly now. He limped along, legs and arms numb and
his vision hazy, sliding in the mud as he went. It hurt Alena almost as much
to see someone so strong taken down, struggling to move. "It's not... much
further. Just..."
She hoped it wasn't. The poisons had well and truly set in. Unless she could
find help quickly... She tried not to think of what would happen. You're
a survivor. Please, survive this... for me... please...
The way was barred. Two Kokiri stood in the path, blocking the only obvious
route through the trunk of a hollow tree.
"Hey! What're you doing here?" one of the forest children queried, before
noticing... His guardian fairy glowed an angry yellow and buzzed around the
injured Link's head. "You can't come through here, miss! Not with him! That
guy ruined everything! He totally destroyed the village!"
"Too right!" his companion yelled. "We're not letting Oni through here!"
Alena was running short of temper with the Kokiri. And what were they talking
about, anyway? "His name's not Oni, it's Link. And can't you see he's hurt?
Some sort of a giant snake bit him. He needs to see a healer or someone,
and quick! He's going to die if I don't!..." she half-yelled, her voice choked
with emotion.
The second Kokiri lifted her gaze from armour to face. "You say his name
is..." Her fairy flew in for a closer look, and brushed aside the wet hair...
"It is! It really is you! You've..."
Link collapsed to the ground. The forest girl ran over to him, with a strange
mixture of excitement and fear in her eyes. "Come on over here, Rafi! We've
got to help get him to safety!"
"Are you mad, Essa? Not after what he did... Are you really going to believe
this grown-up -" the word becoming more of an insult than a mere description
- "that this guy is really our old friend?"
Alena's temper finally snapped. "Look. You two can stand around and bicker
all you want. But I am taking Link to safety. You can help me, or
you can argue. It's your call." With that, she knelt down and arranged his
arms around her neck. Huh. Role reversal.
Before she'd gone more than a couple of steps, she felt the load lessen.
Alena glanced round. An expression of immense concentration on her face,
Essa was lifting Link's legs out of the mud. "I'll help you. My silly brother
won't believe me, but I'm sure you're telling the truth." She looked aside,
sadly. "If this is Link, he needs our help. He used to be one of us, after
all. But if this is just Oni... he deserves to see what has happened to us.
Perhaps he'll feel something that he should have five years ago..."
"What's that?"
"Pity."
-
"He's gonna blow!" giggled a Kokiri girl, as Link sat up in bed retching.
By all the goddesses, his head hurt. But wait a minute - where am I?
he thought. He looked around.
To his surprise, it looked like the inside of a Kokiri 'treehouse', although
perhaps a little larger than the usual rooms. Children stood around watching,
some of whom he recognised as old friends, seemingly unsure whether to be
excited or afraid. There were two bottles of the ever-useful blue potion
sitting on a table by the bedside. The air was rich with the scent of something
cooking. Thank you! Thank you so much! You've saved me... after all I
did... you've found it in your hearts to forgive me. I understand how Skull
Kid felt, when the giants accepted him as a friend. Now I'm in the same
situation... He blinked, feeling something prickling at his eyelids.
Alena ducked through the low doorway. "You're awake!"
"Y'..." He coughed, and started again. "Just about. Did you get me here?"
"That's right. Well, with a little help, anyway. Turns out that they knew
all about the big snakes in the forest, ever since..." She paused. Her voice
cooled. "Link. Tell me this. Six years ago. Did you come back here - did
the Fierce Deity come here, and..."
He sighed. "Whatever the Kokiri told you is probably true."
Alena sighed. "I knew it. I just didn't want to have to believe it." She
looked into Link's eyes. "This doesn't change anything, you know. But
still..."
"But still. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. You've seen the
destruction... and now you know how awful I really was."
"Actually - no. I haven't seen anything. I just heard."
"You haven't? Then where are we?"
"This really huge old dead tree. They told me the name. Begins with a D."
"... The Deku Tree?" Shocked, Link tried to get out of bed, but
he still felt numb. "Owch. Looks like I'm not all together yet."
"Oh. The poison's going to take a good few days, a week at least, to wear
off."
"Huh. So I'm stuck here, right?"
"Right. But I'm right here, beside you. And there's someone else who is,
too." Alena stepped aside.
For two years, Link had tortured himself with a memory, an illusion. Had
he really committed the crime which had haunted his nightmares? One death
out of so many... they'd all run together. He no longer remembered who or
what had actually suffered at his hands.
But... it became clear that the worst of them all was nothing but imagination
- a dream of the Deity - as Link saw the small figure step out from behind
Alena.
"It's good to see you again... even after all that's happened. Oh, Link...
You're really back!"
"It's good to see you too, Saria." He reached out to hold his old friend,
tears coursing in both pairs of blue eyes.
-
"It's no good."
"What do you mean?"
"When the boy escaped through the clock tower portal, he managed to seal
it behind him. I don't think he even knew he was doing it."
"He doesn't know who he is?"
"No, my lord. I don't believe he does."
"Fair enough. I will have to find him the hard way... Come here, my
servant."
An agony beyond imagining, two minds into one...