The Legend of Zelda: Link's Desperation

Chapter 2: Ordon Village

Link had very few options. He could live a life of wandering and never reconnect with the world, he could go back to Ordon and his daily routines, or he could beg for refuge in Hyrule Castle. He wasn't a fan of being disconnected, nor was he a fan of begging. He decided to return to Ordon.

He shakily stood, rising from the base of the Master Sword where he had slept. It would be very little time before he would be back in the village, so he admired the grove before going to mainland and getting Epona. The grove was eerie, but it didn't bother him. He took the path towards the Temple of Time, reflecting on the hideous spider he slayed, and the statue that he led back to the entrance after he had defeated the Darknut. He pulled the Dominion Rod from his pouch, and let the ball of energy that once controlled the statues get thrown back and return to him. He put it back and continued to the mainland.

He exited the grove, the chuckle of the Skull Kid he had encountered loudly resonating in his mind. Both sweet and sour memories plagued him; but he kept his head high, defiantly refusing to recall them.

After a small trek, he was in Faron Woods beside Epona. There were two paths; one to Ordon, and one to the Forest Temple. He reluctantly chose the path to Ordon, half wanting to relive the memories of the forest and half scared to. He traveled further.
Once he reached the bridge, he began to realize what returning to his home would entail. The children have been through a lot, but they're children. How heavily has this ordeal affected them? Can they possibly grasp the severity of what had happened? All Link knew was that he is most certainly a different person, whether or not they have changed us up to the goddesses to decide. And it's probably certain that the adults are just happy to have their children safe.

Soon he was upon the spring. This feels like its where it all started; Ilia had taken Epona to the spring to wash her, and Link had to continue on to herd goats. The next day, chaos broke out. The children were kidnapped, Ilia separated from them, and Faron was draped in twilight. That was the day Link had learned of his destiny. He met Midna, Princess Zelda, and had taken into the form of a divine blue-eyed beast, or rather a wolf. The Triforce on his hand had begun to shine that day.

Young voices snapped Link out of his nostalgia. He stopped Epona quietly and listened in on their conversation. He recognized every voice he heard.

"How much longer are we going to wait here, Ilia?" Talo inquired. He seemed tired and bored.

"I thought you loved Link!" She snapped.

"I do, but it's been days. We even slept here! I want to go home." He pleaded.

"Fine. When Link comes back, I'll tell him how much you loved him. So much that you left before he returned!" She was bitter towards him.

"But Ilia..." Talo's younger brother Malo said quietly. He seemed to agree with Talo's longing. There was a moment of silence, and Link could imagine Ilia's face. Starting to conform into rage, her nose must be flared and her chin raised. But the silence was longer than it took for Ilia to prepare her anger. A slow, heavy, exasperated breath escaped her.

"Fine. We'll call you when he comes back." She relented. Link didn't hear anything but two sets of footsteps walking, and getting quieter.

"I can't believe it. Do they not love Link? I don't think they understand what he did for us... for everyone in Hyrule." Ilia muttered.

"Come on," Beth said pleadingly, "we have waited for awhile, but don't get me wrong, I'll sit here waiting for Link for eternity. They're little kids, they don't understand. I'm sure they'll be just as happy to see Link as we will be." Beth seemed much more mature than the little girl Link knew so long ago. Beth was a simple-minded child with an obvious crush on Link before everything. Now, she seems to be holding Ilia back from her usual craziness. With this conversation, it was obvious that when Ilia regained her memory, she went right back to being herself, not being different one bit. Beth was most definitely more nature compared to what she was. Malo and Talo seemed quite the same also.