The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Queen

I Knew You Once...

Link walked out of his house and climbed down a tall wooden ladder. Fado, a man with short brown hair and a big nose, was leaning against a gate at the other end of the small clearing. The gate was the entrance to Ordon and it was locked in a most unfriendly manner.

"Hello Fado!" Link called out, ignoring the last few rungs of the ladder and jumping to the ground.

"Hey! Link!" Fado smiled and waved a hand in greeting. He held a bottle of milk in his other hand; smoke rose from the cup in little clouds.

"How are you doing?" Link asked, trying not to regret skipping breakfast. Maybe if he'd remembered to buy food for his cupboards, it would have made more sense to have breakfast. And been possible.

"Just wakin' up, you know?" A distracted nod was all Link could muster in response. He'd realized something as he gave the clearing a cursory look around (it was a habit he'd picked up during his adventures that he was having a hard time breaking). Epona was not by the treehouse. Unless she'd shrunk, she wasn't even in the clearing!

"Not again," Link found himself whispering bitterly. No breakfast and his horse was missing. Again.

"You lookin' for Epona? Saw her with Ilia not too long before. Hey, y'all mind helpin' me herd the goats? After you find her of course. Might be able to finish early today if y'all do." Fado spoke like he didn't have a care in the world. Maybe he didn't. It was like he thought everything was still as it used to be and that nothing had changed. Like something in his friend hadn't snapped, like his friend was still whole. Link longed to forget what had happened just like that, even though it was a cowardly wish. Everything would be so much easier if he couldn't remember.

"Not sure if I'll have time to. It depends on when the villagers want to leave." It occurred to Link that he didn't even know who he was to escort to the castle and it startled him to find that it didn't matter to him.

Link walked out of the clearing, waving goodbye to Fado. Link headed through a small path that weaved around the trees. He'd walked this path so many times before, every time he'd walked it recently had been for the same reason. It had become a tiring habit, repeated at least once a week, if not more.

"Ilia!" Link called as he passed a wooden fence into a large green clearing. Most of the ground in the clearing was filled with crystal clear water. The Ordon Spring. Legend has it that the spring is inhabited by a magical Light Spirit called Ordona. This was more than a tall tale, as Link knew all too well.

Long ago, the world had fallen into the fiery flames of chaos. There was a fight amongst the mortal races to reach the Sacred Realm where the Golden Goddesses reside. Four Light Spirits, the servants of the Goddesses, were sent to stop these interlopers and bring back peace. They sent the interlopers to the Twilight Realm, where their descendants are still stuck today. The Twili people. Midna. When the Light Spirits were attacked by darkness, Link had collected and restored their stolen light. Their gratitude had been expressed in the form of history lessons, riddles and lectures. But the Light Spirits later revived Midna, so Link was incredibly grateful.

"Link," Ilia responded angrily. Mayor Bo's daughter, Ilia, had beautiful short brown blond hair and a big heart. Link had been friends with her since they were little. With how distant they had become, he didn't know if they were still friends.

The water lapped at Ilia's feet and she stroked Epona's brown hair with a loving gentleness. Link sent a quick prayer to the Goddesses before stepping into the shallow waters.

"What did I do this time?" he asked, wondering if he could ever do something good from the view of Ilia's eyes again.

"You need to be nicer to Epona. She deserves care and love just as much as any person." In truth, Link had been taking better care of Epona than ever. It was all he spent his free time doing. Other than staring up at the sky or blankly at a wall, caring for his faithful horse had become his favorite pastime. Maybe Link wasn't a detective, but it didn't take much to tell Ilia was bothered about something else.

"Why do you keep doing this?" He could barely keep the frustration out of his voice, which frustrated him more.

"Do you remember that day?" He didn't need her to specify which. It was always that day. The day his life changed. The day he started his journey to become a hero. His last moments of being normal, of being content with his life as a simple goat herder. The day the town of Ordon was attacked, the day his friends were kidnapped and he was left for dead. The last day he was able to ignore the call of adventure inside of him. The day the beast that slumbered inside of him awoke.

"That was the day I lost you," Ilia spoke, not waiting for a response. "That was the last day you truly belonged to this town, wasn't it? You sold your soul to rescue us... I'll never be able to thank you enough, but... Even now, your soul hasn't been returned to you. There's a distance in your eyes that time refuses to wash away." She sobbed softly, burying her face in Epona's fine hair.

Link stood silent, hurt to see someone he cared about in pain, yet unsure what he could do. Was there anything he could do? Once, he and Ilia had been so close. He would have known what to do then. But now? Now each moment he spent with her the gap that formed between them seemed to widen.

"It's OK," she said finally. "You don't have to say anything. I know you don't mean to be distant. I know that demon stole your heart. Just please, take better care of Epona." She wiped the tears from her eyes and led Epona back to Link.

"Midna isn't a demon." He wasn't sure, even though he said it confidently.

"Listen to me, Link. A demon ruins your life, gives you false hope by promising to fix it, then leaves you in the dust to pick up the pieces. Familiar story? Sounds to me like you dealt with a demon." She fixed him with a pitying look, tears threatening to return to her eyes.

"She never intended for it to happen like that. That's just what did." Link saddled Epona, who shifted her feet uneasily.

"You don't have to defend it anymore, it's gone!" Ilia reached out and grabbed his arm as she pleaded for him to understand.

"She." He gritted his teeth. "I have to go." If he stayed, he'd probably say something he'd instantly regret. Ilia did not let go of his hand.

"I wish you would come back to me, Link. I wished you'd managed to escape like the rest of us. I wish we could be friends again... Like we used to be. I wish you weren't the one who had to save us all. Why wasn't it someone else?! Why did it have to be you?" Her speech started soft, but quickly crescendoed to a wail. Link turned to face her, his face blank.

"Because I am the chosen hero of the Goddesses." He somehow managed to keep his voice steady. When he said Goddesses, his left hand burned with the mark of the triforce. Just a reminder that they were still there, refusing to leave him be.

"But why you?"

"I've asked myself the same question." Ilia let go of his hand and turned away. With a sigh, he gently urged Epona forward and left Ilia to her thoughts.

"Hey oh! Link! You found Epona!" Fado called when Link and Epona entered the clearing around Link's treehouse.

"Hi Fado." Link thought for a moment before saying, "You know what, who cares when the villagers want to leave, they can find me if it's urgent. I'll help you today."

Fado was overjoyed, his face lit up like a lantern. Link felt guilty for a moment, it should matter more when the villagers wanted to leave. Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Thank you Link. It just hasn't been the same at the ranch without you. Speakin' of which, I brought in some wild goats last week, could really use the help." Link gave a small smile at the thought of doing something normal, something he'd loved doing before his adventure. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

"Great." Fado unlocked and opened the gate. Then they walked together to the ranch, Epona trailing behind them.