The Fractured Holder [Pokémon/LoZ Crossover]

16| Admittance

A week passed by, during which Link's group began to make their way to the Lanayru Province. They were better off staying on the move than hiding out. For all they knew, Daemos was sending out a kingdom-wide search for them, especially after their capture in the Deku Kingdom.

Nobody spoke to Link during this time. They'd converse with each other but left him out of it. Even Zelda didn't speak to him, which Link found strange. Resa wouldn't look his way, and he was glad she didn't. Damn spirit didn't want to admit she was being an ass, so why should Link have to apologize for getting angry? He was still determined to prove her wrong, and if that meant wringing his energy dry every day, then so be it.

Things fell into a monotony for Link that only he seemed to really be feeling. Wake up, train, eat, walk for hours, stop to rest and train, walk again, stop for the night. He felt like a Pokémon on a lead, and he hated it. He didn't voice any of his distastes though, since even he knew he would've come off as a whiny child if he did so. At this point, it was just Luce's want to stick with this mission that kept him with the group.

But what Link found most off-putting was that Luce wasn't speaking to him at all either. She still trained with him and acknowledged him, but she wouldn't say anything. Even her aura seemed to become muted whenever he was around her.

That afternoon the group entered the Ordon Province, where plains and tall grasses—save for the more foresty section in the southwest section—covered most of the land, and farms and ranches took advantage of it. People were more abundant here, often using the roads to transport harvested crops on Pokémon-pulled carts. Link knew better than to cross the berry sellers in particular, since they were especially vicious with protecting their wares.

Because of the increase in population, he and Zelda made sure to have their hoods up as much as they could in spite of the late-summer heat, and Resa tried to have her sashes crossed to conceal her Triforce marking. Fortunately, nobody paid them any mind.

Link felt a grim sense of nostalgia while walking Ordon's roads. These farms had been some of his first haunts for stealing, back when he'd first started his life out here with Luce. He'd still been reluctant to leave the province he used to call home. He glanced at Luce, and she was looking away from him. He couldn't stand to keep quiet about this any longer.

"What's with the silence?" Link asked her. "You feelin' okay?" She spared him a glance before nodding and looking away. Link was confused. Maybe she was just being quieter than usual? He decided to push it aside. If something was wrong, then Luce would let him know. He could count on her for that.

The afternoon faded into night, and with the rising of the sun continued the monotony. Days passed, then another week. Link found himself becoming worried. Everyone's silent treatment continued, including Luce's.

Soon the idyllic plains of Ordon came to an end. The land gradually began to rise with small hills before gray rocks tore apart their tops and coated the grass. Sand and gravel leaked in light, grainy rivers from between the rocks and trickled down onto the road. Wingull and Pelipper soared overhead, bound for Hyrule's east coast.