Fragments of the Past

practice

After breakfast, the two of you had set off to the west. You weren't entirely sure where this place Link had in mind was, but you were more than happy to get a chance to stretch your legs out, and happier yet to get to spend time with the blond.

It was difficult to work past this feeling that he might leave your side at any moment—you hadn't realized until recently just how scared you were of being alone. If Link were to leave, it wouldn't just mean losing him as a companion, but also losing your ties to all of the people you had met thus far. Would the Zora's still welcome you if you weren't Link's partner? Would Purah and Impa still have offered the help that they did? You weren't sure, and the uncertainty made your fear all the more overwhelming.

On top of that fear, it seemed to become more and more apparent to you every day just what it meant to be living in a time completely different from your own. People seemed to talk differently—no doubt the result of some dialects outliving others—as well as dress differently, and the whole of Hyrule seemed to be more perilous and desolate than the one you once knew. While there wasn't anything in particular that stood out to you as different, there was a constant uncanny feeling of not quite fitting in, like a peg trying to fit through a square hole.

You hadn't yet had any other big waves of memories hit you, but every now and then a part of your mind would call out, as if pleading with your conscious to recall that this is different, this is strange, we aren't where we used to be.

It was exhausting.

But in moments like these, when it was just you and Link and the wilderness—it was bearable. It was like that nagging feeling went quiet, and let you just be.

You hadn't been walking for long—you guessed it couldn't have been more than 15 minutes since you left the domain—when Link gradually slowed to a halt. This piqued your curiosity, as the two of you were still in the middle of the grassy path up the side of the mountain, and it seemed like an unusual place to be coming to a stop. Chancing a glance past his shoulder, you thought you could see the beginnings of a clearing up ahead, and felt even more confusion as to why he would be stopping here.

Your questions were answered when he came closer to you, voice quiet.

"...There's a chance there's a Hinox ahead. I'll be right back, okay?" the blond whispered, holding a finger up to his lips when you began to protest. "I won't get hurt. I'll be right back," he reassured, and you reluctantly gave a nod of assent.

The knight flashed a soothing smile in your direction, before he was turning to head up the hill in the direction of the clearing. As he moved, he pulled his sword from its sheath, footsteps so quiet that even from a close distance you couldn't hear his movement.

Seeing him like this, you couldn't help but feel a little starstruck. Yes, you had heard him say himself that he was the appointed knight of the kingdom's princess, and of course, you believed him; you would be a fool not to. He had proven his strength time and time again over your travels, and there was never any reason to doubt him. But all of these instances had been up close, at times when you couldn't fully appreciate his strength, and the litheness with which he moved.

His movements reminded you of a wolf on the hunt, in some way.

It wasn't long before he was disappearing around the bend of the mountain toward the clearing, out of your sight. You worried he would find this Hinox he had mentioned, and end up getting tangled up in a fight.

Much to your delight, though, Link soon came bounding back down, spirited as he jogged towards you with a grin.

"It looks like Sidon has been improving patrols around here," Link commented, before gesturing for you to continue following behind him. You picked up a light jog yourself until you were again walking beside him, thankful that the activity didn't wind you. "Definitely signs that it had been here. Lucky us it isn't."

A small chuckle left him after this last line, and you couldn't help the smile that made its way to your face in turn.

"Well, maybe more like lucky it. I have a feeling you wouldn't have let the Hinox off easy, huh?" you tried to joke, and you felt satisfaction when it drew an amused huff out of the knight.

The two of you came into the clearing in full now, and you paused in your steps for a moment to take in your surroundings. It was beautiful, in the understated way that nature always seemed to be. Part of the clearing had been taken over by a sort of marshy pond, and different wildflowers sprouted here and there. You could hear the occasional croaking of frogs, and towards the edge of the cliff, you spotted a few cranes that had decided to bask in the sunlight.