Chapter Text
The sky was dark, speckled with billions of stars and punctuated with the bright full moon. Wild horses could be seen shuffling about or sleeping in the valley of grass at the foot of what was locally known as the Dueling Peaks. A glowing shrine or two dotted the landscape with their strange orange glow.
Along the pathway cutting between the split mountain, Link sleepily held onto the reins of his colossal horse, his eyes drooping and barely staying open as his head bobbed. The trip to Hyrule Castle had taken a lot out of him, having to defend Zelda from the moblins that somehow continued to make their home in the corridors or the dining hall. Then, after leaving, he had to send Zelda ahead to meet him at the stable on the other side of the peaks while he fought off yet another member of the Yiga Clan who was supposedly sent to assassinate him. The cocky young man was humbled by Link’s swift attacks that disarmed him so fast it made his head spin.
Zelda must’ve just arrived at the stable by now, she wasn’t too far ahead of him.
A flash of green caused his horse to rear up, forcing Link to snap awake and try to keep his balance, pulling back on the reins and coaxing the horse by patting the side of her neck gently. He glared upward to the bright green light, wondering what business a wizzrobe could possibly have in this area and what it was doing to scare Gladia- the horse chosen specifically to accompany Link and Zelda to Hyrule Castle as little to nothing scared her. He gasped, however, at seeing the swirling, circular panel hovering fifty or so feet above him, seeming to open into the face of the western mountain.
Whatever this was, he didn’t think it wise to keep Gladia around it much longer. He nudged her sides to urge her forward, “Easy, girl- it’s alright-” he encouraged, trying to get her to recenter herself and move onward.
His ear twitched as he heard a shout coming through the mysterious gateway, a glowing silver streak shot through the gateway and crashed hard into the side of the opposing mountain. Gladia knickered, stepping uneasily and anxiously. The silver streak flashed white as it fell, revealing itself as a human teenage boy. Gladia’s eyes widened at the sight of the flash and her ears flattened against her head, neighing loudly as she reared again, this time knocking Link off of her back. As she stepped around in a panic, her massive hoof landed directly onto Link’s right hand, causing him to shout out in pain before she galloped off at full speed.
Link brought in his quickly numbing hand and nursed it, barely catching a glimpse of black, red and purple that covered his fingers. He heard a splash as the boy landed into the river unconscious. Trying to muster his focus, Link looked up and saw that he’d begun sinking. He tucked his arm close to his body and scrambled to his feet, diving straight into the river to rescue the boy. He gripped the back of the teen’s shirt and started swimming upwards, seeing stars briefly and yelping from the accidental use of his crushed right hand. He quickly readjusted and kicked his way up to the surface, lungs aching from the unintentional release of the breath he’d been holding, gasping desperately once he’d reached air and trying hard to stay above water until he reached the bank where he dropped the unconscious teen onto the ground and held his crushed hand close to his stomach. He groaned loudly from the pain not only from trying to use the hand with a fresh wound, but also from taking it straight into cold river water. Once he finally recollected himself, he looked back up, trying to piece together where the gateway could have led to and how he was going to get the teen back through it. HOwever, before he could figure anything out, the disk shrank into nonexistence, as though nothing was ever there. He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned, a new wave of pain shooting up his forearm. He looked back down to his hand, quickly covering it upon the sight of the bent fingers and broken skin that he was pretty sure he just saw bone poking through. He took another slow deep breath, trying to will away the pain.
The teenager beside him groaned and stirred, forcing his eyes to open before they rolled back and they closed again. He took a deep breath and shakily forced himself to his hands and knees, “My head…” he mumbled. “What…?” he looked around, taking in his surroundings, “Where…?” he took a deep breath and held his head, “Was flying… then Skulker…” he recounted, “Oh… wait…” his eyes suddenly widened as he started looking around, “Where- the portal! Where’s the portal?” he jumped up to his feet and started walking up and down the bank, looking around and looking up.
“You mean that swirling, green gateway? It disappeared a few seconds ago.” Link hissed. Then he took a deep breath, and let it out slowly and shakily.
The teenager’s eyes flashed toward Link in horror, “What?! No, no, no, no…” he shook his head, “No, that- I can’t be stuck here…” he started breathing heavily, then he grabbed his head, “Oh…” he lowered himself to his knees, “Oh, my head…” he glanced back up for the portal before hunching over again.
Link approached him, “Take it easy- you hit your head pretty hard.” He said, “At least I think you did. You came shooting out of that gateway and crashed full-force into the mountain face there before falling into the river.” He explained, doing everything in his power to keep focus and ignore the blinding pain. He shakily held out his left hand, “I’m Link.”
“Danny-” he hesitated before shaking Link’s bloodied hand, “Hey, you’re bleeding…” he watched as Link returned his arm to cover his injured hand, “You need a doctor.” He stood up shakily.
“Uh- your portal and that… white flash, whatever that was, scared my horse. She threw me off her back and stepped on my hand.” Link wanted to look at the damage again, but was almost afraid to. “I can’t really feel anything else right now.”
“Shoot, I’m sorry…” Danny turned and stepped toward him, “Can I see?” he asked, holding out a hand.
Link hesitantly moved his left hand and showed Danny his right.
Danny winced- the hand was just about mangled; fingers were bent in the wrong way, caused easily by broken bones, what he could see of the skin outside of the glove was black, purple and spotted with blood, in some places, he was sure there were misplaced bone. He took a deep breath, “You need a hospital…” he said.
Link frowned, “I don’t think they’d be able to save this…” he said with a nervous and pained chuckle.
Danny looked up at him, then back down at the hand, “It’s really painful, isn’t it?” he asked, earning a nod. “Here…” his hands glowed an icy blue as he waved them around Link’s hand, setting a thin layer of frost on the skin. “Um… maybe we can set the bones?”
Link pulled his hand away, almost too quickly, he realized, “There’s a healer-”
“Link? Link! Oh, thank Hylia, you’re alright!” Zelda trotted up to them.
Link turned around and was knocked backwards a step from a hug. “Zelda?” he asked with slight surprise, keeping his hand a safe distance from any accidental impact. Meanwhile, Danny went back to looking around for the portal.
“What happened?” she demanded, “I was worried. Then Gladia arrives at the stable, alone. You’re nowhere in sight. What- why are you wet?” she asked, “And what’s happened to your hand?” she asked, cupping her mouth in horror.
Link took a step back, bringing his hand back close to his body, “It’s a lot to explain… some… otherworldly gateway opened above us and he came flying out of it. There was some flashing lights and it scared Gladia so bad she threw me off her back and she stepped on my hand.” He said, taking a deep breath in pain.
“I see…” she shook her head, “Go visit the healer at the stable. At least get your hand bandaged…” she said, “I’ll be there shortly.”
“Are you sure? It’s dark out, and I’m not sure if another Yiga clansman will show up out of nowhere.” He rose an eyebrow.
“I’ll be fine, Link.” She gave him a light kiss on his cheek.
His face turned slightly pink at the gesture. “But-” he winced as a new wave of pain washed through his arm. Then he let out a defeated sigh, “Alright… I’ll meet you at the stable… just… please be careful.” He said, “You have that sword?”
Zelda patted the hilt at her hip. “I’ll be fine.” she reiterated.
Link took a deep breath and started walking in the direction from which Zelda came, trying to process what he had just seen. Danny didn’t look the way he did when he fell in the river compared to when he hit the mountainside. He was trying to process… white hair? Glowing features? Different clothes altogether… and something about the scream seemed to… echo. Even while he was talking to Danny, something seemed off to him. Who was Skulker? What caused a portal to open right above Link and Gladia’s heads just to drop a… an ice caster into the river. He looked back down to his hand, the frost had just about completely melted by now, but there was some residual coldness on his sleeve and glove. Which, now looking at it, the glove was likely going to need to be cut off completely in order for the healer to straighten his fingers.
Zelda turned to the mysterious teen, who was now kneeling and staring at a strange, rectangular tablet, looking for a response, poking the sleek front and squeezing the sides, “Hello.” She greeted.
Danny looked up at her and set the device down. “Hey…” he finally replied, wiping an eye.
Zelda’s ears lowered. “I’ve… come to understand that you’re not from around here…” Her tone was sympathetic as she knelt beside him.
Danny took a deep breath, “No, I’m not… from… I’m from a whole other world…” he said. “I only wound up here because a hunter accidentally threw me through a portal leading here.”
Her ears perked, “Well, if it were an accident… Perhaps they will reopen the portal and you can get back?” she suggested optimistically.
Danny chuckled, “D-Doesn’t work like that…” his eyes watered, “I-It was a portal that opens at random times in random places…” his voice started shaking and his eyes began to water, “That never open in the same place and time twice…” his heart began to pound in his ears. He began to hyperventilate, “Oh god, I’m never going to get home…” he grabbed the sides of his head and squeezed his eyes shut.
Zelda moved closer to him, “Hey, easy, we don’t know that.”
“I’d have to be insanely lucky to find a portal that takes me home. And I mean- lottery levels of lucky.” He gasped, trying to control his breathing, his fingers raking through his hair, gripping small handfuls of it and letting go, just to grip another handful. “And I’ve never been that lucky.”
Zelda set her hands on his shoulders, “It’ll be alright.” She tried to assure him, but all she could hear him muttering was something about ‘too many close calls’ or ‘pushing my luck’ or ‘Sam is gonna kill me if I make it back’. She gently took his hands and moved them away from his head, “Try to breathe… what’s your name?”
“Danny.” He exhaled shakily.
“Danny? Alright… my name is Zelda, and you’ve met Link. You’re welcome to stay with us until we figure out how to return you to your world…” she said, “I will not let you handle this alone, alright?”
Danny nodded, “Okay…” he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Right… now let’s catch up with Link at the stable. We can try to find you some warm, dry clothes, a warm meal, and a comfortable bed.” She gave him a slight smile, “How does that sound?”
“Okay…” he said, still nodding.
She stood up and held out her hands to help him to his feet. Once Danny was standing, he hugged himself from the cold after being soaked from the river. He trudged behind her as they walked toward what she claimed to be the stables. To him, it looked more like a circus tent with a weird monster head built on the top. Just outside one of the two doorways, separated by a service window, was what seemed to be a cooking pot with a fire underneath. Beside that was a small stool. Zelda led him to the doorway, but noticed DAnny’s hesitation to step in. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Danny shook his head, “I don’t want to be around a lot of people right now…” he said. Inside, a small family could be seen huddled around one of the beds, a man with a large pack in the shape of a rhinoceros beetle sat by the support beam talking with Link, wrapping up some sort of transaction. A couple of travelers mingled near one of the tables, and some of the stable staff seemed to be finishing their shift while others came in to cover for them.
Zelda looked at the small crowd, some people had started to stare at the mysterious teen wearing the odd clothes beside her. She sank and looked back at Danny, “Alright…” she took a deep breath and gently took his arm, leading him to the small fire with the cooking pot, “You can sit here, then…” she said, “Get warm. I will be back. I’m going to check on Link and I’m going to ask if he has a spare set of clothes for you to borrow…”
Danny nodded, “Thank you…” he sat down on the ground and curled in on himself.
Zelda watched him stare at the fire with worry. She took a deep breath and started inside. Once she entered, most of the guests bowed their heads with respect or acknowledgment. She walked straight to Link, who sat on a bed with his hand bandaged. “How are you feeling?” she asked, trying not to stare at his hand.
Link shrugged, “I’m alright. My hand is going to keep me up tonight, but not much I can do about it.” He said. “How’s Danny?” he asked, “He looked uncomfortable when you two got here.”
“He doesn’t want to be around other people. I don’t blame him.” She said, “He’s scared. He’s in a new world he doesn’t recognize, he doesn’t believe there is any possible way home… he’s cold, he’s wet, the poor boy was in tears after you left.” She said. “I told him he could stay with us until we figured out how to get him home. I hope that’s alright with you.”
Link nodded, “That’s fine.” He waved his right arm carefully, “I could use the extra hand.” He gave her an experimental smirk, raising his eyebrows.
She stared down at him and rose an eyebrow with disapproval.
He sank, defeated as his arm lowered back down to his lap, “Alright, I am serious, I really can use the extra help, considering the healer told me that I probably will never be able to use this hand again. She suggests I discipline Gladia, but how can I? I know she didn’t mean it. I can’t be mad at her.” he said.
“Right… I’ll have to discuss that with Danny. Maybe not right this minute, he’s in quite a bit of shock right now. Um… I was wondering if you had a spare set of clothes for him to borrow, just until we get him his own set when we arrive in Hateno.”
Link winced, “This was it.” He tugged at the shirt he was wearing. “My clothes are drying on the fence outside. I wasn’t expecting to even need this set, much less another.” He said. “And I just spoke with Beedle, he doesn’t have any with him, either, but he does consider it to be a good idea that he starts carrying some clothes in his stock. Seeing as even I needed some over the course of the last year.” he muttered, “At home, where are we going to arrange for him to sleep?” he asked.
Zelda shrugged, “Not sure… I do know that we’re going to have to rearrange some things.” She sighed, “But for tonight, I’ll ask the innkeeper for a spare blanket and another bed.” She stood to turn toward the counter.
“Wait- Princess!” Link winced at the slip-up. He’d addressed her as ‘Princess’ for so long, he was still getting used to addressing her by name, something that seems to bother her after they defeated Calamity Ganon. She didn’t seem to see a point in the title and made it very clear that she wanted him to refer to her by name. “Zelda…” he looked back up at her, having her attention regardless of how he addressed her. He sighed, “Keep an eye on him. There’s something odd about him, I’m not sure what it is.”
Zelda’s ear twitched as she stepped back toward him, “Odd how?” she sat beside him and leaned in, “Do you think he’s untrustworthy?”
Link shook his head, “He’s lost, scared and confused, but I don’t think he’s untrustworthy. There’s just… something about him. He has ice magic, and when he came out of that portal he had some sort of… eerie aura about him.”
“Ice magic, really?” She gasped. “I wonder if magic is commonplace where he’s from.”
Link shrugged, “Didn’t think to ask. Just… I don’t know… I don’t know if whatever it is might lead to trouble later, but I can’t really ignore it.”
Zelda nodded, “I’ll keep it in mind.” She planted a small kiss on his forehead before standing up, “Get some rest, alright? Try .” she urged the blushing knight.
Link nodded, clenching his left fist from the pain. “Don’t be long.”