The Legend of Zelda; The Usurper King's Revenge

Chapter 1; And So It Begins

The first time it had happened, he'd woken up in the castle's kitchen. After that it was outside Telma's tavern in Castle Town. The third time it had happened, he'd found himself at the entrance to Faron Woods, and now… at the ranch. As he struggled to recall the time in between falling asleep and waking up there, it worried him.

“Link… Say erh, what's the likes of you doing here at this time of morning?”

Link mentally kicked himself as he saw Fado walking towards him. Usually he would be there only to lend a hand around the ranch when asked, but what was he supposed to say? That he'd taken a walk in his sleep and somehow ended up there? It sounded ridiculous in his head, and would sound even worse if he said that aloud.

“I- I-” Link laughed and rubbed the back of his neck as he raced through a million different excuses. “Well, you see, Princess Zelda sent me to see if you have any fresh goat's milk. The stock at the Castle has gone a little sour, and the little one is fussy without it.”

Fado remained quiet as he looked Link up and down, and a small V line appeared between his eyebrows, almost like he wasn't buying the story, but it was quickly replaced with a smile and a nod.

“As a matter of fact, I was just about to get to milking them if you'd like to give a man a hand. I'll knock off the cost of the milk for your troubles, of course.” He offered at last.

Link pondered the offer for a moment, knowing he should have been hurrying back to the castle already because there was no doubt that Zelda was worrying about his unexplained absence, but disappearing now would raise Fado's suspicions. He would help with the milking, get the job done as fast as physically possible, thank Fado for the free milk, and then head back to the castle as fast as his legs would carry him.

“Yeah, I'd be happy to help.” He said at last.

“Great. You know how it works, so let's get to it.”

Zelda looked over at the door as she laid her son back down in his crib, half expecting Link to come running through the exact moment the baby closed his eyes. But it didn't happen. With a heavy sigh, she headed out of the room and out into the castle passage, where two guards were stationed either side. There was no way they could have been there the entire night without having seen Link leave.

“Your highness.” They both greeted her simultaneously as she set her sights on them.

“Did either of you see anything last night regarding Link?”

The two guards exchanged a look as though trying to recall something between them. Zelda tried to remain patient as they hummed, muttered and scratched their heads, but this was an urgent matter and without knowing where Link had got to, every second counted.

“He must have left in the middle of the night. One of you must have seen something. Come on, think.” She demanded.

“Now that I think about it, he did pass through.”

“He did?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow. “How long ago?”

“A little while before dawn broke, I'd say. It was rather odd, he left with only the clothes on his back.” The guard on the left explained.

“He's unarmed?!” Zelda gasped, her eyes now wide with worry. “Oh that's bad. He didn't indicate where he was going?”

“Nope, not a word.” The guards said in unison.

“Please take my son to Impaz, I need to go and find Link.”

“Right away, your highness.”

Zelda gave them both a nod before turning and hurrying down the passageway, lifting the hem of her dress so that she didn't trip as she ran. She got all the way to the stable, only to see Epona in her stall, exactly where she was supposed to be at that time of morning. While it was a relief to see the mare safe and sound, it only made her fear for Link all the more. Wherever he was, he was unarmed and without a means of travel other than his own two feet. Part of her had hoped she would find him there, but she knew even before she'd come to check, that the chances were minimal. Picking up her dress again, she hurried back inside the castle to find the chief of the guards. Her next move would be organizing a search of the Castle and all surrounding grounds, and if Link still made no appearance, she would take matters into her own hands.

“That should just about do it.” Fado commented, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Stand by while I bottle some up for you, then you can be on your way.”

Link nodded in acknowledgement, and as Fado returned to the barn, he sat himself down on a stool outside. As he waited, with only the goats and their bleats for company, his thoughts started to wander back to the last time his bad habit had occurred. He'd found himself outside Faron Woods, which had seemed bad at the time, but this was somehow worse. Not only did he seem to stray further from the castle each time it happened, but without any recollection in between falling asleep and waking up, he was starting to fear for his sanity. More so, the things he might be doing that he didn't know of.

Before he could lose himself entirely in the depths of those thoughts, Fado returned bearing two bottles of the fresh goat's milk they'd spent the morning getting from the herd. Link took them as he was offered and muttered a thank you before making his excuses and leaving, making sure to draw as little attention to himself as possible as he passed through Ordon village. Getting back to Hyrule Castle would be so much easier if he had Epona with him…

Epona.

Link had loved and cared for her day in and day out from the very beginning, and had been extra careful since the promise he'd made to Ilia. Though over the last few weeks, she'd made it more of a challenge than ever before. It felt almost, to him at least, like she no longer trusted him.

Ouch.

That was an unpleasant feeling. A heavy sigh escaped him as he passed by the fairy fountain and through the tunnel that led him out into the field, with his shoulders slumped and his feet almost dragging behind. He only started to pick up speed as he neared a group of roaming bokoblins, hoping to remain undetected. They were annoying enough when he was armed, never mind when he wasn't, and having to fight them would take up more time. He needed to get back to the castle before people started to worry.

Link slowed again once he was safely past the bokoblins, but stole a brief glance back over his shoulder… and came to a skidding halt when he saw them all staring at him with their beady eyes. His attempts to get past them unseen had failed, yet they weren't making any moves to attack. If it were any other foe, he'd have put it down to calculating their next move, but these piggish creatures didn't have too much in the way of brains. Link's eyes drifted to the path ahead of him, and then back to them. He really needed to get to the castle, but his curiosity was peaking. With a shrug, he gathered a few small scattered rocks to be on the safe side, and then turned back, and approached the group with caution.

Even when he was less than a foot away, they made no move and his curiosity quickly turned into suspicion. Juggling with the rocks in his hands, he settled on a slightly hefty one and then launched it at them. The rock flew through the air and struck the nearest bokoblin right in the middle of its head. A loud snort, not too far off the sound of a squealing pig, came from its mouth as it jumped around rubbing the top of its head. Link cringed at the sound and readied another rock, fully expecting them to attack now.

But they didn't. Instead his instigation was returned with only their beady stares. Link swallowed and frown tugged on his face, but he didn't dwell on the foes any longer. Dropping all of the rocks he'd gathered, he started on his way once more, moving faster again. With everything that had happened, not only that morning but over the last couple of months too, he couldn't ignore the growing feeling that something was up. Zelda felt it as well, she had made that clear every time she'd tried to talk to him on the matter. Though he'd shut her down because he hadn't wanted to believe it. But if he left it any longer, the choice would not be his to make. Now, he had to hear her thoughts. Even if it barely made a difference, it was better than feeling like he was losing his mind.