New Home - BotW Link x Reader (Undergoing Revisions)

Chapter 33 - By Hylia's Grace

I was up and moving before the sun even rose, and even before the first rays of lavender and pink peeked up above the horizon. I was, of course, already awake, so all I had to do was gently ease Link from my lap and back into the piled-up bedding I'd prepared for him.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I assured him, though he was still soundly asleep. Still in a crouch, I brushed some of the hair from his forehead and though he shifted slightly, he did not stir, nor did he wake.

"Epona will be here with you," I said, looking back at her. She was looking at me steadily, and bobbed her head - as though understanding, as though acknowledging, as though vowing to keep him safe while I was gone. I looked back down at the slumbering boy, who looked so content and so at peace, now.

"Don't even think of wandering off," I warned him as I stood. I felt bad leaving him like this, I did. But I had no other choice. I needed more supplies, and I needed them now. Wounds like those needed to be checked regularly - the wound on his head was bad enough, but the one on his stomach was incredibly concerning - and checking regularly was useless if there was nothing to re-clean and redress the wounds with.

So, with only the mourning doves as my witness, as they prepared for their own morning flights, I prepared for my own. "We'll ride fast and true," I said to Sky as I secured her saddle across her back. "Right?"

She snorted a little, as though that was a silly thing to say. I smiled, and I don't think I had ever prepared for a ride so quickly across my entire journey so far - except in the instance I rode her bareback, of course. I pulled myself up into the saddle and didn't even wait to get comfortable before kicking into my mare's sides and heading off.

Out of that small forest clearing we rode, and along the thin, barely-there trail we broke out onto from the underbrush. Along the road we went, with her thundering footfalls alerting every living creature in this forest, for it was far too early for such noise. Deer looked up from their hideaways and birds peeked down from their perches, watching as we raced by.

Sky was brilliant, following the winding and often hazardous trail perfectly. Down a slope we went, with my breathing aligned with her own. With each huff, there was another stride forward and I leaned down against her neck.

She charged down the slope and the last several yards she slid, for she knew she had to - only then was she able to get her feet beneath her at the bottom and turn, rearing back to do so before bounding along the trail that now followed the hill's side. We rode quickly, her feet finding purchase against the dirt below her with each pace.

"Good girl," I said, patting her neck as I saw the edge of the forest. She neighed happily, about as clear of a thank you as I could get from her, but it was a challenge, too - a challenge for me to watch her, to see what else she would do. She understood the urgency, and slowed only enough for me to read the signs at that crossroad without me needing to ask.

"Outskirt Stable," I read aloud, directing her to turn to her left. "That's our destination. "Let's go!"

She neighed triumphantly, and took off down the road. The sun now peeked up above the horizon, but because we were heading west it was at our backs; our shadows preceded us and as the morning dew in each blade of glass before us was brilliantly illuminated by the first peeking rays of sunlight, the early morning fog began to ease away from the chilled earth. Sky's laborious breaths came out as puffs of wispy steam, so it appeared to me, and she seemed more like a machine than an animal.

At long last, the stable was in view. Its distinct horsehead shape was impossible to miss and I sat up in the saddle, relieved at the sight of it. "Thank goodness," I breathed out, easing her from her gallop and into a more comfortable canter for a few paces now that the road was sure to become increasingly busier.