Another Time

Chapter Three

The hero knew he couldn't just leave the boy there, left alone to fend for himself in the woods. That would be cruel and go against everything the hero stood for. But...was it possible for the hero to take the boy back in time with him? The hero wasn't even sure how to get himself back to his time, much less how to go about kidnapping a boy to a time he didn't belong to.

The former hero wasn't unfamiliar with the intricacies of time travel. In fact, thanks to his adventures he'd had more experience with time travel than he'd have liked. He'd messed with time so much, traveled around to the point where he had no idea anymore what his mental age was supposed to be. He'd sacrificed his childhood and innocence. Sacrificed his blood and life again and again. For the good of Hyrule, that's what he told himself as he suffered through the pain, for the good of all those who couldn't save themselves. Why? Because the maiden feather Hylia had demanded that he do so!

He'd finally thought he'd done enough, finally thought he could leave the saving to the professional. He'd wanted to just settle down with his lovely wife, have a family to care for. He just wanted to be happy, to be normal...

Foolish dreams, for here he was, far off in the future. It must have been Hylia's doing. Why? The hero had yet to figure that out. He hadn't even figured out how the Goddess had done it. Divine magic or something equally annoying would be his best guess.

The first time he'd ever experienced time travel had been through the Master Sword. He'd pulled it from its pedestal, heart full of hope that with this blade he'd be able to save everyone. A flash had exploded over his eyes and next thing he knew, he was an adult in a future where he'd failed... Back and forth he went, seven years lost, seven years gained. Changing realities and forms till he wasn't sure which one was real. By the time he was strong enough to defeat Ganon, neither age, 10 or 17, seemed to fit him right.

In his next adventure, he'd left the world of Hyrule in search for a good friend. In a world parallel to his own, his arrival cursed the land to a terrible fate. A song was the key to his and the land's survival. When played, it took him back three days before the world was brutally destroyed. Those three days he repeated till he had them memorized to the tiniest details, till he could do everything perfectly and save everyone.

The Master Sword and a Song. He wasn't certain the song would work now, since he didn't have an ocarina and he wasn't in the land of Termina. Not to mention, he needed to go back a lot further than three days. He was fairly certain he was in Hyrule, so maybe he could find the Master Sword and use it to get back home? Assuming this was Hylia's doing, assuming he was in a future version of Hyrule, then the Master Sword might be able to take him home!

The hero sighed, pausing his work to wipe sweat off his brow. He leaned against the handle of a shovel, taking a deep breath. The hole he was standing in barely went up to the top of his boots... That wouldn't do.

As a rule, he didn't agree with the old tradition of burying the dead. The hero had spent way too much time in his life battling the buried, the rotted, the decomposing hunks of lifeless flesh forcibly brought back to haunt the living. Graveyards were frequently destinations of his nightmares and the monsters lurking underground were often the cause of him bolting awake late at night with a terrified scream.

Burning the dead was a much safer way to honor their memories... But the boy had insisted that this was what his father would have wanted, that being buried in the family graveyard was what he would have wanted.

So now the hero was digging a grave, sacrificing his sweat, energy and time for the dead. Not that he blamed the boy for any of this. The boy had tried to help dig, but when he nearly collapsed from exhaustion, the hero had forced him to stop and rest. The little boy now slept a little ways away, breathing softly. His face was covered in muddy tracks of soot, dirt and tears, but sleep had smoothed out the worry and sorrow. Beside him lay Epona, the boy leaning against her side with half his face buried in her mane. She intently studied the hero as he worked. She was such a good girl, so patient and calm.

"We'll leave soon, Epona," the hero of time promised softly, returning to his work with a tired shake of his head.

Where would they go? The temple of time. That's where the Master Sword was, that's where their key home was. Only problem was, he had no idea how to get there from wherever he was. His best course of action was to find the nearest village and inquire there. Unless, of course, the boy knew where to go? Speaking of which, the hero still hadn't figured out what to do about the sweet kid. In the heat of the moment, the hero of time had promised to protect him...but he needed to return to his home, and couldn't abandon his wife like that. Taking the kid with wouldn't be an option with the Master Sword, so he'd have to leave the kid behind... Maybe the hero sounded a little selfish, but he didn't care. The hero didn't belong in this time, so the kid wasn't his problem. All this to say, he didn't intend to just abandon the kid. He'd take him to a town and find someone responsible to look after him.

The hero finished digging the grave, the boy getting up to join him for the last bit, and with a slight struggle managed to lay the woodsman to rest.

"Is there anything you'd like to say?" he asked the young boy. The boy responded with a shake of his head, wiping tears from his eyes with the back of a grubby hand.

The hero of time heaved a sigh before speaking again. "Goddess Hylia, please watch over this boy's father... Protect his soul as it journeys to whatever is next..."

He finished burying the woodsman, leaving a pile of stones as a grave marker. It looked surprisingly neat and tidy, like it belonged amongst the more professional graves. Hopefully the woodsman would stay dead.

"Kid." The hero set a hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy was refusing to look away from his father's grave, which broke the hero's heart. "I need your help."

The boy nodded, still not looking away.

"Do you know where the temple of time is?"

The boy shook his head. He finally glanced away from the grave, meeting the hero's concerned gaze. "That place isn't real. It only exists in father's stories..."

The hero frowned, trying hard not to look disheartened. "Then... Where is the Master Sword."

A mischievous smile from the boy and the glint of a storyteller danced in his eyes. "Legend has it that a great temple housing a sword like no other was swallowed by a forest of magic! No one can enter the forest or they lose their way forever!" The boy smiled as he spoke, waving his arms about as he told his story.

A forest of magic which one easily became lost in. It sounded familiar to the hero. The forest of his childhood. The lost woods! "Do you know where this forest is?"

The boy shrugged. "It's just a story..." Maybe, yet it was still more than the hero had had before. But where was he to go now? Who was likely to know where the lost woods were?

"Kid, do you know which direction the nearest town is?" The boy nodded, pointing left.

The hero of time looked towards the point. He'd hoped to find a path cut through the trees. There was nothing but brush. He sighed, shaking his head. "Can you lead me there?"

And off they were. The boy rode on Epona's back, clinging to her mane with wild excitement. The hero of time walked beside them, his smile far from forced. He clutched Epona's reins in his hand, more as something to do than as a way to guide her. She was clever enough to guide herself.