Chosen Heroes

Rest

    It was nightfall when they had reached the exit of the woods. The land stretched out into a grassy plain. The determined heroes kept on for it wasn't a good idea to camp out in the open. Luckily, there was a small road they were able to follow hopefully to a village. Unfortunately, the field was teeming with stalchild.

    "Watch out, Sky! There's one on your left!"

    "I got him! How are you doing back there? There's two at your seven!"

    "I'm doing fine. Keep following the road. I'm behind you."

    When at last the sun rose, the duo could glimpse the walls of what appeared to be a town. The road was now clear. Hurriedly, albeit tiredly, they entered the place that they discovered as castle town. The square was lively. A couple danced by the fountain in the middle, dogs chased each other through the alleys and children played on the side of the street.

    Sky plopped himself down on the edge of the fountain with a sigh of exhaustion. Chosen followed suit and noticed the sleepiness in the boy's eyes. 

    "We should probably find an inn to stay at. We can rest there," he stated. Sky sleepily nodded with a yawn. Chosen placed his hand on the teen's shoulder, smiling encouragingly before standing.

   The pair quickly discovered an inn and rented a room. They registered under the name Link with the thought of their nicknames being too strange. Speaking of strange, the man who registered them muttered something about "the third time today..." Chosen thought nothing of it and followed Sky upstairs.

   As soon as he had set down his items, Sky collapsed onto the soft bed, chain mail and all. Hylia's chosen knight watched fondly as the boy fell asleep within seconds. He decided to let Sky rest and quietly headed down stairs to grab something to eat. 

***

   The dining hall was loud. Chosen noticed this as soon as he left the stairway. The place was somewhat crowded with hylians gambling, drinking, dining or just simply talking. He scanned the area for a empty spot. Once he had found one he settled down with his plate. Unfortunately, two male Hylians were arguing quite aggressively with each other making the spot significantly louder. He observed that the two and several others around them were roughly the same age. A brunet clad in dark green and brown clutched the arm of one of the boys who were arguing.

    "Legend, sit down! Please. He's not worth it. You're drawing attention," the boy begged as his panicked brown eyes glanced around. The one he clung to, apparently named Legend was clothed in a red tunic, a blue cap and peculiar winged boots. Legend ignored the brunet and kept spitting insults at the taller blond Hylian who had a blue scarf draped around his neck.

    "Warriors, look at me! Leave the guy alone!" a much smaller boy pleaded. His blond hair was much more unkempt and sun bleached and his skin was moderately tanned. The argument continued until another kid, who was even shorter than the last and wore a tunic of bright colors and a green headband, marched up and pulled Warriors away by the blue scarf.

    "Come on Wind," he spoke firmly gesturing for the other kid to follow. Wind followed after quickly apologizing to the pair at the nearby table. The area had significantly decreased in volume after the other three boys left. Honestly, Chosen didn't mind the noise. He'd prefer this place loud and warm rather than cold and quiet... just like...

    The silvery-blond stopped himself and shuddered.

    "Don't think about that!" he growled quietly to himself absentmindedly rubbing his wrist.

***

     Abruptly, Sky awoke to an unfamiliar bed. He stumbled out of it in surprise before he recalled the events of the day before. He headed to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. Drowsiness gone, he let out a tiny huff at his bedraggled appearance. While combing his fingers through his hair, he ruminates on what happened yesterday.

     "I woke up in a strange forest with a man who had claimed to be the hero before me and ventured with him fighting monster hordes until we came upon this place," he recited. "Chosen could have lied to me about being a hero and an ally, but he certainly seemed genuine... When did I become so trusting?"

    Just then the door creaked open. Sky spun around to see Chosen step into the bedroom.

    "Hey, kid. Sleep well?" the man inquired stretching his arms.

    "Yeah." Sky turned towards the mirror and removed his sailcloth, folding it neatly and setting it to the side.

    "How do those scratches look?"

    Sky glanced at red marks in the reflection.

    "They're not bad. They're shallow."

    Chosen motioned for the boy to sit on the bed next to him.

    "Come here. Let me see." Sky padded over and hesitantly sat down. Chosen gently pulled the white fabric of Sky's collar away from the boy's neck to get a better look. Soon after, the older Hylian arose and rummaged through his pouch.

    "Stay put. I'm getting a damp cloth to clean it." 

    "He is just like Zelda," Sky muttered under his breath. Then louder he spoke, "I'll have you know that I'm 17 and capable of cleaning it myself."

    "Sure," Chosen sat by his kid with the damp rag in hand. "Just let me do it."

    "You are so much like Zelda," Sky laughed. With great care Chosen cleans the small wounds making sure they wouldn't be infected. He even had Sky take red potion. The boy huffed dramatically, but reluctantly took a few sips of the bitter liquid. They both knew those scratches would disappear within the next hour. 

Yes. I made Sky younger than he is in canon. I'm the author and it's fan fiction. I can do that. ~ Hero_of_Courage