The Silent Beast | The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Prologue: Back Home

With my black horse Telli's reigns in my hands as I walked along with her, I took in rhythmic breaths while looking around the Faron trail. I had nearly forgotten these very trails after entering the forest, but it had been so long since I'd seen them in the first place, so this mini-adventure is one I didn't mind today. After all, the goal that this entailed was to return to Ordon after my family and I left in childhood.

Eight years before, my family had stripped me away from the forested Ordon, but even after all these years, I had yet to find out why exactly. As any nine-year-old child would find, it was hard not to stay aggravated at my mom and dad. Especially if you had been stripped away from your closest friend.

Link was always by my side as a child, as we were both loners. Our "kid logic," as I dubbed it, was that loners should be with other lone wolves. After those long eight years, I wondered how Link had changed. Was he still the chatty-cathy, ranch-hand he was, or a quiet hot mess like me? Only time would truly be able to tell...

As I neared the Faron Spring with my black-coated and gray-haired mare known as Telli, I was able to overhear the voice of a man that had comforted me many years ago: Rusl. "Tell me... Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?" These words only drew me in to walk further ahead to see who he was speaking to. Stepping up and furrowing my brows in confusion, the sound of running water was also filling my ears, causing me to remember the Faron spring: my safe place outside the village.

"They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs... The only time we can feel our lingering regrets of spirits who have left our world. That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight. But enough talk of sadness, I have a favor to ask of you, Link." With that in mind, that gave me the answer to who Rusl was talking to, Link. He turned to Rusl as he gave his schpiel with a small smile. "I was supposed to deliver something to the royal family of Hyrule the day after tomorrow..." The swordsman began, "Yes, it was a task set to me by the mayor, but... would you go in my stead?" That made me smile, knowing that the ranch hand most likely hadn't left this village. "You have... never been to Hyrule, right?" I expected the much older Link to respond with a vocalized no, but he just shook his head as the two returned their gaze to the water ahead of them.

"In the kingdom of Hyrule, there is a great castle, and around it is Castle Town, a community far bigger than our little village. And far bigger than Hyrule is the rest of the world the gods created. You should look upon it all with your own eyes." Rusl indeed wasn't fibbing about the size of Castle Town. It was truly a magnificent sight to behold. I'd know, as I had been there to see it. "It is getting late... We should head back to the village. I will talk to the mayor about this matter." Getting up from his position on the dirt (and maybe a bit of mud), Link followed. He gently took Epona's reigns, turning to finally look at me, causing me to give a winning smile. "He isn't lying, you know."

I crossed my arms, kicking myself from the land I was leaning against. "Hyrule Castle Town is grand." Rusl and Link stared at me with dumbfounded, wide optics. I gradually made my way forward, letting go of Telli's reigns and narrowing my (e/c)-eyed gaze gently before bringing Link into a long-awaited hug which he returned.

"It's good to see you after all these years, Link..."

(661 Words)