Chapter Text
Six Months Ago
The safehouse was supposed to be secure. No one aside from Zelda and Impa knew its location. Or so they thought.
As Link kept his knife trained on his attackers, he wiped his bloody lip. One of the Hylians was on the ground motionless, whether they were alive or not was unknown. The conscious one glared at him while keeping his own back firmly pressed against the wall.
“You're a heartless monster,” his attacker snarled.
A dangerous part of Link’s mind agreed.
He remained still and quiet, Impa would arrive any second now to take care of the situation. And as if to prove him right, Proxi burst through the partially open window and fluttered next to his shoulder. Impa followed soon after, she shoved the door open and stood in front of Link defensively with her sword drawn.
“What is going on here?” She demanded and kept her ready stance.
“That man is a murderer,” the attacker spat, “you’re complicit in his crimes for keeping him hidden away.”
Impa ignored him and turned to face Link, her usually calm face was etched with worry. Link was frozen in place. He looked at the floor and winced, most of the blood was not his own. The knife in his hand was heavy, he dropped it and took a step back. Striking down his attackers had been worryingly easy. He was tired of fighting. But unfortunately he was good at it.
“They came in here and attacked him!” Proxi supplied when Link remained silent.
“Are you injured?” Impa asked and Link weakly shook his head. “Go sit down, I’ll take care of this mess.”
He obeyed and sat on his couch, he turned himself in such a way so he couldn’t see Impa or the two Hylians. Having someone else clean his messes was not anything new. The conscious attacker audibly struggled and spat out poisoned words when Impa restrained him, though whatever he said didn't fully reach Link’s ears. Wishing to hide from what he had done, he burrowed his face into a pillow.
Something light touched his shoulder, he knew it was Proxi landing on him. While most people knew to not touch him without his explicit permission, the little fairy was an exception. She nestled against his neck and her warmth radiated through him, it was a nice reminder that he wasn’t alone.
“Link, how are you feeling?” Impa’s voice said nearby, but not overwhelmingly close.
Link could have laughed at that, but he lacked the energy.
“I’m not even safe in my own prison,” Link gritted out, his voice was a bit rough due to misuse.
“You are not a prisoner.”
“Then why can’t I leave?” He questioned with something dangerous in his tone, though he knew the answer already.
“It’s to keep you safe,” she explained calmly. 'It’s to keep others safe' was left unsaid. But he knew it was there.
“You’re not doing a good job of it,” he all but snarled, instantly regretting it when he saw her surprised expression.
Impa had been nothing but kind to him. When he reached his lowest points, she was always there to support him and drag him out. None of his problems were on her. His friend deserved better than to be on the receiving end of a temper tantrum.
“I'm sorry,” he said, and meant it. “It’s my fault that I hurt them.”
Impa frowned and sat next to him, though not too close.
“No, it’s not. It’s on them for attacking you,” she said sternly, but not unkindly, and continued, “you cannot be blamed for defending yourself, understood?”
The way it was almost worded like an order was oddly comforting.
“I understand,” he replied and took a deep breath.
Logically, he knew it wasn’t his fault, but it was hard to turn off the part of his brain that wanted to blame himself. He missed being able to help and protect people. Now he was stuck here wallowing in his own misery. While his leg had been healing rather fast thanks to a combination of magic and physical therapies, he feared his mind would not heal in the same way.
“I’m tired of this,” Link said after a brief silence, “why can’t people leave me alone?”
“I wish I knew. I’ll get to the bottom of this. Stay here, I’ll be back once I explain this to Zelda.”
Link had no time to protest or comment, Impa was out the door in a flash. It wasn’t like he could go anywhere. There was magic keeping him from straying too far away from his cabin. He had tried running a handful of times back when his thoughts were less clear. Despite what Impa and Zelda said, this was a prison, albeit a comfortable one. Yes, he had access to warm meals and soft sleeping spots. There was even a small garden out front where he enjoyed growing plants. Still. He couldn’t leave.
A few hours passed before the door opened again, Link watched carefully in case the visitor was not a friend. Proxi fluttered to the door in preparation to give the intruder a piece of her mind. Instead of it being yet another person after Link's life, Impa stepped in with an unreadable expression. To his surprise, she didn't close the door behind her. When Zelda and Lana walked in, he knew there was something wrong.
He slowly stood and used the back of the couch for support. During his medical leave, Impa was his sole caretaker. Receiving the occasional visit from Zelda or Lana wasn't out of the ordinary. But with both of them at the same time and looking like they just watched someone kick a puppy? That was strange.
“Hello, Link,” Zelda said softly, “how are you?”
“I’m okay,” he gritted out and kept his gaze on the floor. He didn’t want to worry her with his problems.
“He feels terrible,” Proxi rudely supplied.
Link glared at her disapprovingly. Normally he was appreciative of her ability to connect with him and speak on his behalf. Now everyone was looking at him in anticipation for an explanation. It was no secret that he was unwell, there wasn’t a point in trying to hide it anymore. After a heavy sigh, he raised his head and maintained steady eye contact with Zelda.
“When I think I’m getting better, something like this happens and knocks me back down,” Link started to explain. “I want to be left alone in peace.”
“I believe we may have a solution for that,” Zelda said while taking a step forward. “We can send you somewhere safe while we root out this traitorous faction.”
“Where?” He asked in disbelief. Nowhere had been proven to be safe. The castle was infested with spies, and the city was seeded with doubts and mistrust of their hero. Even the empty countryside was not secure, as proven by today’s events. Then it all started to make sense. Lana realistically wouldn’t be here for this unless she had a hand to play in the scheme. They intended to send him to a different time entirely. “When?”
Now everyone was on the same page.
“There’s a few different options,” Lana spoke and her cheery smile brightened, “I can send you in any time where Courage has activated. There’s one relatively close to us, but it’s covered in an ocean and I’m not sure how you’d feel about a beach vacation. Another is fairly similar to our time, they are culturally the closest to us. The last could be an interesting change of pace, but even after the hero’s victory, monsters still run rampant. There are other, older times of course, but I would not recommend going that far.”
Link thought about it for a moment. The last option was an immediate no for him. A beach vacation sounded a bit alluring, but he feared the seafaring lifestyle was not his thing. That left one possibility.
“I’ll take the middle one,” he informed Lana.
“Hold on a minute,” Impa interjected and crossed her arms, “you’re really not going to question this at all?”
“Seems straightforward to me,” he replied with a shrug. Being sent somewhere where he wasn’t recognized sounded like a dream. “Besides, I’m supposed to be the impulsive thorn in your side.”
Impa cracked a smile upon hearing that, likely happy with his positive change in mood.
“I suppose you’re right. I do want you to understand this is optional, this is your decision.”
“I know. I want to do this, I want to get better.”
“Very well,” Impa said with a nod, “go pack any belongings you want to bring with you.”
Link heeded her words and went into his room to pack. Proxi fluttered around the room pointing out things for him to potentially take with. There wasn’t much he wanted to bring, so his bag remained light. He grabbed a couple changes of clothes, some brushes, and then his scarf. A few of his favorite books and an empty journal went in as well.
“Hey, Proxi,” he cupped his hands together to give the fairy a sturdy place to sit, “you should probably get going to the Fairy Fountain.”
“What, why?” She exclaimed and batted her wings aggressively.
“Because you can’t go with me. You should stay here, and besides, it’s been a while since you’ve been home.”
A brief silence followed.
“You’re right,” she said and flew up to give his nose a kiss, “you better not do anything dumb without me.”
“I won’t,” he promised and laughed.
Proxi flew away and Link resumed packing. He would miss her dearly, but it would be selfish to ask her to accompany him. Once he was certain he had everything he wanted to bring, he returned to the main room. There were potted plants along the windowsill, he had planted most of them by himself. Carrying around a pot would be unnecessary and cumbersome, he elected to leave them behind.
“I’m ready,” he said and slung his bag over his shoulder.
Impa stood in front of him and rested a sturdy hand on his shoulder. There was kindness in her stern expression.
“Stay out of trouble.”
“No promises,” Link said with a weak smile.
“That’s the spirit,” she replied and brushed a strand of his hair out of his face before dropping her hands to her side. “Your hair is starting to get long. I would like to see it braided the next time we meet.”
Link froze upon hearing that. Having his hair chopped off after his discharge wasn’t something he regretted. He had acted disgracefully and wasn’t deserving of having knight’s braids. A part of him missed the routine of readying his hair for the day. Even now, he felt his hair tickling the back of his neck and he could imagine Impa or Zelda helping him make it look presentable. He wasn't certain he was ready for that.
“We'll see,” he replied dryly, not wanting to brush her off.
Zelda stepped forward and handed him an envelope with a royal wax seal. Link grabbed it and waited for an explanation while taking note of her worried expression.
“Deliver this to their queen,” she started. “It details your situation and she should properly accommodate you.”
“Thank you,” he replied and carefully tucked the letter into one of his books for safekeeping. He offered her a smile and continued, “I’ll be okay. Will you make sure my plants are taken care of?”
“Of course.”
He knew the task of watching over his plants would be a welcome distraction for her. Once he grabbed his walking cane, he stood next to Lana.
“Should you need to return before I reach out to retrieve you, there is a failsafe,” Lana started to explain as she readied her staff to open a portal. “Pull the Master Sword and I will know to bring you back.”
“What? Is that safe?” He balked and looked at her with disbelief.
“Perfectly safe, the blade is not sealing Ganon in that time.”
That hardly seemed fair. He supposed there wasn’t anything he could do about it aside from sending a complaint to the gods. Even then, that wasn’t something he particularly wanted to do.
Lana opened the portal and Link took a moment to admire it before stepping in. He was really going through with this, he would be somewhere with no familiar sights or people. It was a thrilling notion.
“Don’t miss me too much,” Link said with an air of smugness. Of course, his former cocky persona was long dead and buried. Still, he hoped having a hint of his old self poking through would assure his friends that he would be okay. If it actually worked, he couldn’t tell. He didn’t stick around to find out, briskly stepping into the portal.
The inside wasn’t anything like he remembered, though he supposed it was different if he was going in alone. There were numerous gateways, some were so far away he could hardly see them. The ones that were visible looked remarkably like stained glass windows. His gateway, which had ‘Hero of Eras’ at the top, had a depiction of the Master Sword front and center, there were tendrils of black and red that oozed from it to frame the lower portions of the window. He could make out simplified depictions of his friends and allies he made during his adventure, they were fighting shadow entities that could only be the dark versions of himself. The memory unsettled him, so he turned away.
A path made of luminescent teal rocks connected the gates, he walked along it until there was a split in direction. The gate to his right depicted a vast ocean with a castle at the bottom, there were golden triangles along the sides and a massive bird-like monster at the top. In the center was a depiction of that time’s hero standing in a strange red boat. So this would have been his beach vacation if he chose that era.
The gate in front of him, if he were to continue walking straight, looked odd. At the top was a whale flying above the clouds. In the center was a pink-haired hero surrounded by trees and strange animals. At the bottom was a horde of monsters and soldiers working together. Link didn’t know what that was all about, but he was glad he declined to go to that era.
Lastly was the gate to his left. In the middle was a wolf with a surprisingly familiar figure sitting on top. Link recognized Midna from the war, he had completely forgotten that she worked with a hero before him. Along the edges of the window were strange shadow beasts which threatened to overtake the amber background and spirits of light. This was the Hero of Twilight’s era, which would be Link’s new home for the foreseeable future. With a slight bit of hesitation, he stepped through the portal.
He landed in the ruins of a temple, vines and trees grew in the cracks of the wall. Blankets of moss and lichen covered a large pedestal in the center of the temple and along the stone bricks. Iron bars that once helped support the structure were now corroded and sticking out of the walls at odd angles. The only thing untouched by nature and time was the shimmering sword in the middle of the pedestal.
The Master Sword looked exactly as he remembered it. Her pristine blade lit up the surrounding area, Link couldn’t help but feel drawn to it. He could lift the blade and no evil would befall him. For a moment he wondered how things would have turned out if the sword hadn’t been sealing Ganon in his time. Would his heart and mind not have been corrupted with hubris? There was no point in dwelling over hypotheticals, so he turned away from the sword and left the temple.
A dense forest greeted him when he stepped out of the building. Luckily there was a path leading through the trees and bushes, though it was overgrown and clearly hadn’t been traversed regularly in a long time. He had to pay close attention to where he was going, he did not want to stray from the path and get lost.
It didn’t take too long for the trees to start thinning out, and the path finally led to a dirt road. There were hoofprints and wagon tracks along it, so he changed direction and started walking down the road, more than happy to leave the forest. He didn’t know where he was going, and there were no signs along the way.
“The other way leads to the castle,” a cheery voice startled him. Then he realized he recognized it.
He whipped his head around and spotted the familiar blue glow of Proxi.
“What are you doing?” He questioned softly and held out his hand for her to land on.
“I’m helping you find civilization, genius,” she replied and landed on the provided hand.
“That is not what I meant and you know it.”
“Fine, fine,” Proxi said and repositioned herself to sit on Link’s shoulder. “I didn’t want you to be alone, so I snuck into your bag.”
Link frowned. He should be mad at her for disregarding his request, but her presence was always a comfort. It was too late now anyways to do something about it, and he wasn’t about to pull the Master Sword in his first hour just to send her back.
“Alright. Stay close to me, we don’t know if there’s fairy-eating monsters here or something,” he said and felt Proxi nestle closer to his neck.
Eventually, the forest opened up into a massive field. His weak leg started to bother him as he continued to walk, so he took frequent breaks and put his cane to good use. A cart approached him from behind and put him on edge. During his leave of absence, he hadn’t stepped foot in the city once. Nor had he seen anyone aside from his closest friends. There was a part of him that feared this being an ambush, even though logically it didn’t make sense.
“Hello there!” The wagoneer called out to him when he drew closer, Link found himself instinctively reaching for a sword that wasn’t there. “You seem a bit lost, need a ride to Castle Town?”
Link stared at the man, not caring in the moment if it was rude. He was older, but by no means did he look feeble. There was a sword at his side, but it lacked any sort of pomp and the fact he wielded it openly instead of concealing it was a reassuring sign. The man’s horse was a stout mare with a noticeably lame back leg, and the wagon was full of grain and vegetable bags. Overall, the man seemed to fit the bill of some sort of farmer, not a fighter.
“I would appreciate it, but I have no rupees to offer you,” Link replied steadily.
“Nonsense! All I’d ask in return is for you to help me keep an eye out for monsters.”
He thought about it for a moment, it was a tempting offer.
“I think I can manage that,” Link replied with a light smile. He climbed into the wagon and sat down next to the man.
“The name’s Rusl, by the way. What brings you to Castle Town?”
“I live there,” Link lied and decided to not introduce himself. Judging by Rusl’s shocked expression, that wasn’t the correct answer. Maybe this time’s Castle Town was primarily inhabited by Gorons or something.
“Sorry for assuming, it’s just that I don’t recognize your accent or style of dress,” Rusl said when he caught Link’s worried expression.
Link mentally cursed to himself. He truly didn’t know much about this time, he really should have paid more attention in history lessons. He would have to let other people lead conversations and make assumptions about him.
“No, you’re right,” Link explained with a nervous laugh, “I’m not from there, but I’m moving in now.”
“I see. I would have guessed somewhere by Kakariko, they grow the best carrots around you know.”
There was something strange about the conversation, though he couldn’t place why. The questions were innocent enough and it was a nice way to pass the time as they rode along.
“I’m from that area, but I lived alone.”
“Ah, a fellow countryman! City life is definitely a change of pace, I don’t envy you. My oldest is moving there soon, he’s not too thrilled about it.”
“Maybe we can meet and start a club for rookie city slickers,” Link joked, but quickly realized his paranoia wasn’t unfounded. Rusl gave him a suspicious look like he thought Link would suddenly transform into a bokoblin. This was all an interrogation of some sort, though for what or why, he had no idea.
“What is it you plan to do in the city?”
Link took a moment before replying. He couldn’t say he was from the future and the queen was going to give him a room in the castle, that would earn him a fast trip to a cell of some type.
“I’m not sure,” he replied truthfully, “I’ll take any job I can get.”
Off in the distance was a massive bridge, Link knew that must be Lake Hylia. It looked slightly different than he remembered, but a few hundred years would do that. As they approached the ornate bridge, the cart slowed to a stop. Scaffolding covered the piers and a team of Gorons and Hylians were hard at work placing stone bricks in the ruined portions. Link wasn’t sure it was safe to cross the bridge while it was actively being worked on, but this must be the only way across. There were a few wagons stopped ahead of them as a small group of soldiers inspected the contents.
“You know,” Rusl spoke while keeping his gaze forward, “if you were going from Kakariko to Castle Town, it doesn’t make sense that you ended up near Ordon.”
It was a thinly-veiled threat, but a threat nonetheless. He understood why Rusl decided to confront him now, when there were soldiers around as potential backup. Link couldn’t believe he’d only been here for an hour and he was already getting into trouble. He would have to flee to the Master Sword and consider this a failed mission, assuming he could escape. His throat closed up and he quickly searched for a way out, he didn’t know what he did wrong.
“What’s your problem?” Proxi’s voice rang out as she fluttered from her hiding place.
“A fairy?” Rusl questioned and stared at Link in disbelief. The older man didn’t say anything else for a moment, he seemed to be calculating something in his mind before he let out a sigh. “I apologize, I’ve been on edge with everything going on, and I could tell you were being less than truthful.”
“Well, don’t take it out on him,” Proxi chided and flew back to rest on Link’s head.
“You really don’t know,” Rusl said quietly, almost to himself.
“I’m not from Kakariko,” Link said when he felt his voice return to him. “I’m not from Hyrule at all. I stumbled through that forest before you picked me up and that’s the only experience I’ve had with this place.”
“I see. Well, this may seem silly to you then, but I feared you were looking to harm my boy.”
Link frowned at that. If this man’s son was in danger, then he should help. It was the least he could do for the free ride and for the upset he caused.
“I may not look it, but I am an experienced swordsman. If your son is in trouble, I can help.”
“He is more than capable of wielding a sword,” Rusl said with a grim smile and he continued, “I’m afraid his battle is not something that can be won with swordplay. You see, he’s betrothed to the princess. As you can imagine, royalty marrying a commoner has been rather controversial.”
Link knew all too well. He was technically courting Zelda, even if it was only to keep suitors off their backs. When word first got out, he remembered hearing backlash like it was the scandal of the century. Of course, his status as a knight of the realm and being the goddess’ chosen hero quickly squashed most of the hearsay.
Now that he thought about it, he wondered why the princess here was marrying a commoner. Rusl wasn’t a knight, so his son likely wasn’t one either. Unless his son was in a similar situation to Link’s.
“Is he not knighted?” Link asked curiously as their wagon approached the front of the line.
“Link’s ceremony was last week,” Rusl explained and Link had to stop himself from reacting to the name. It was a common enough name, but he didn’t want to give Rusl a reason to be suspicious of him again. “That’s not good enough for some of those noble types, hell, they don’t even care he’s the hero.”
Oh. Now it was all coming together. Rusl’s son was the Hero of Twilight.
“Must be rough, I don’t envy him.”
Rusl grunted in agreement and they fell silent as the soldiers inspected their cart.
“Where are you from?” One of the soldiers asked after staring uncomfortably long at Link. “Don’t recognize you.”
“He’s from Kakariko,” Rusl answered quickly in his stead. “I’ve been training him for the past few months back in Ordon. You know, it’s been fascinating meshing the Kakariko and Ordon fighting styles together. My offer to train you lot still stands if—”
“Yes, thank you Rusl, you are clear to go.”
Rusl urged the horse forward and they made their way across the bridge.
“It would be best if people think you’re from Hyrule,” Rusl explained once they were well out of earshot. “Stick with your Kakariko story, it’s believable enough.”
Link merely nodded in response. He was beginning to tire from today’s excitement, and he had yet to figure out his lodgings. As they rode along, he listened to Rusl talk while Proxi would occasionally offer a quip. His stomach churned when the castle came into view. He hadn’t been there since his discharge, so it would be strange stepping into the city again, even if it was not the same as his. A hand rested on his shoulder and startled him out of his worried thoughts. Normally he wasn’t a fan of being touched by strangers, but he found it comforting.
“It’s alright to be nervous,” Rusl said reassuringly. “If you find it to be too much, I visit around every other week, I would gladly give you a ride.”
That was oddly touching.
“Thank you, that is very kind,” he replied and Proxi hid under his hair to nestle against his neck.
“Of course. Now, is there anything I can call you should we meet again?”
Link noticed the way Rusl worded that, like he was being given an option to change his name and who he was. He didn’t want to bring attention to himself by having the same name as this time’s hero, maybe something different would be a nice change of pace. There weren’t any name ideas that stuck out, and he didn’t know what sort of names were popular in this era. Wait. He thought about the portal that brought him here and remembered the words at the top of the stained glass. That would do.
“I’m Eras Hurano,” he said and something about it felt right.
“Well, Eras, it’s been a pleasure. I think this is your stop.”
The wagon came to a halt in front of the city gates, Link hopped out once he was sure he had everything.
“Here, one last thing before you go,” Rusl said and handed Link a small object wrapped in orange paper. It was a loaf of pumpkin bread.
“You don’t have to,” Link started but Rusl waved a dismissive hand at him.
“Consider it payment for keeping an eye out for monsters then, and an apology for my rudeness earlier.”
Link nodded and placed the loaf in his bag.
“Thank you,” he said with a smile and turned to walk into the city.
There were a lot of people coming and going, he couldn’t help but worry. To his surprise, no one stared at him or called out his name. He wasn’t the hero here, they had no reason to pay him any mind. He was just another regular passerby in a crowded space.
The castle loomed over him in the distance, all he had to do now was request an audience with the princess and hand her the letter. It was simple. As he walked towards it, he noticed all sorts of smells from food vendors. Artisans sold their wares along the sidewalks. It was all so alive and he could enjoy it without concern.
He wondered if he would be locked away again once the princess read the letter. The thought unsettled him. This was his first taste of freedom in months and he found he didn’t want to lose it. He was self-sufficient, he could easily find a job and a place to live. If it came to it, he could always deliver the letter at a future date if he really needed to.
Proxi huddled close and made a noise that Link could only describe as a purr. Even she was in agreement with his thoughts. Link happily walked down the streets to familiarize himself with his new surroundings. There were a few people who would look at him curiously for a moment, but it was never with recognition. It must be his clothes as Rusl had pointed out earlier, they wouldn’t be in fashion for a few centuries.
As he walked, he saw some guards and civilians striking at a practice dummy. There was a large banner at the archway leading into the pavilion that he strained to read. The language was familiar, but it was difficult to parse. After a few minutes, he gathered that they were looking to hire new guards. That was a job he could easily get later.
For now, he rested on a bench overlooking an elaborate fountain. He unwrapped his bread and eagerly ate his first meal in complete freedom.