Chapter Text
In the month since his awakening Link had found himself overwhelmed by the task that so many people expected him to complete. The King’s Spirit, the voice of the Princess that guided him, Impa and the entire Sheikah Village, so when he arrived at Hateno Village, one of the few settlements that had been untouched by the destruction of a hundred years ago, the sentiment that nobody knew who he was… was rather relieving.
There was no demand for him to rescue anyone, no demand to hasten his journey. He was glad for the lack of pressure to be honest. He knew where he had to go, the Tech Lab was visible from most of the Village but he didn’t have to rush off to see them and he was sure once he found Purah the demand to reclaim Hyrule from Ganon would take first priority again So for the moment he spent his time in the quiet Village learning about the villagers and staying at the Inn for a comfortable bed at night. “You know as much as I love your patronage,” Prima mused as he handed over the red rupee. She put it in a jar as she had for each nights stay over the last week and a half. “If you’re planning on staying much longer you could always invest in a house.” He considered her as he ran a hand through his hair in attempt to tame it before pulling it into a ponytail at the base of his neck.
“Are there any for sale?” He wondered and she smiled.
“I don’t know if it’s for sale exactly, the town pulled together and decided to demolish the thing a few weeks ago.” She said easily. “It’s been abandoned for years now, but you can ask the Bolson Construction Company about it, they’re the owners for the moment. You know the colorful buildings down near the glowing blue thing near the river?”
“The shrine?”
“Yeah that, well if you go past the buildings set up there and cross the bridge you’ll find it.” She directed and he considered her before nodding.
“I may just look into it, thanks Prima.”
“Just make sure you stop in for meals every now and then.” She mused. A small smile graced his lips before he turned with a wave of farewell and headed out of the Inn. He greeted Leop and Manny as he past and followed the path to the Shrine, pausing before heading up the hill. One of the Village children, Aryll if he remembered correctly was sitting alone under a tree. He had seen her around a few times since arriving, keeping to herself for the most part. He hesitated where he stood for a moment more before shaking his head and continuing up the path.
The Bolson Construction homes stood out, the wood painted colorfully and shapes nothing like the simple houses of clay the rest of the village had. He walked past to see the bridge with the unowned house nestled under a cliff. The image of it tugged at something in the back of his mind but nothing came to remind him of this place so he continued over the bridge and listened to the sounds of hammer hitting clay. He rounded the side of the building to see two men hard at work while a third watched on.
“Excuse me?” Link called to them and the third turned to look at him.
“Yes~?” He asked in a sing song voice as Link slowed to a stop a few paces away from him.
“I heard that this house was scheduled for demolition?”
“It is, quite sad it’s a lovely home, but it’s been sitting here withering away for a hundred years. They said the last owner went to the Castle to assist in the fight against Ganon- a tragic tale.” Again the feeling came, something in his mind that felt like a connection to that lost past. “You wouldn’t happen to be willing to buy it would you?” The man hummed curiously.
“If your willing to sell it to me.” Link said smiling a little.
“It’s not going to be cheap, to repair the damage, and put in any fixtures you’re interested in it’ll empty your coin purse.” The man informed him. “However… if you’re willing to help with the labor I could possibly knock it down a few Rupees.”
“Just tell me what I need to do.” The man’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Karson, Hudson put your hammers down boys,” the two other men lowered their hammers, panting some. “We’ve just got a buyer.”
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.
Manual Labor wasn’t second nature to him like fighting and cooking seemed to be, but he could handle the heavy materials with ease and was able to nimbly get onto the roof or awkward ledges that the others couldn’t, it allowed for the work to go fairly quickly, even with Link adding extension onto the house, a storehouse, a larger kitchen and a second more enclosed area to sleep in, not to mention the outdoor renovations, a stable for a horse or two, as well as a pen for Cucco’s and farmland near his apple tree. The price wasn’t all that expensive, though it was true that the more he added the more he had to pay but he didn’t mind. Having a place to be home? That was worth more then a pocket full of money.
He sat at the fire near the Bolson homes eating their dinner as evening set in. “That girl,” He noted to the young child making her lonely way back into the village.
“Aryll? Poor kid.” Karson commented after glancing over. “Her mom past on a few months ago. Theadd makes sure she eats and has a bed to sleep in but…” he trailed off and Link understood.
“What about her father?”
“She’s fatherless,” Karson responded. “From what I understand he was a traveler and swept poor Thosia off her feet, then left her with a child on the way.” Link nodded a bit, the girl was alone with nothing left for her. He could relate.
The house stood ready and mostly furnished, the last bits were being crafted by Bolson and Karson while Hudson was asked to start a project in Northern Akkala. Link organized the house to his liking, putting his weapon racks in the second room and keeping them emptied for the moment, his storehouse was filled with herbs and plants as well as a basin of fresh water while his ice box was packed and he put the meat from a recent hunting trip in to keep it from going bad.
It had barely taken two weeks and he knew that he was wasting time but he couldn’t bring himself to visit the Tech lab, not when things felt so calm. He was heading down towards the forest to search for some Truffles for the dinner he was planning to make tonight when he spotted Aryll near the tree again. After a moment’s pause he walked over and knelt next to her. It took a moment, but the girls eyes looked up, the glare of the sun made it hard to notice at first that her eyes were red, she had been crying.
“What do you want?” She asked in a sniff wiping her nose with the sleeve of her dirty shirt. Link noticed that her dirty blond hair was knotted and, though she didn’t look underfed it was clear she wasn’t getting the care she needed.
“I was wondering if you wanted to come look for Truffles with me.” Link offered and he watched the girl’s eyes trail to the sword and the bow on his back with a small frown on her lips.
“Why?”
“It’s more enjoyable to do when you have company.” Link answered and after a moment's hesitation she got to her feet, and stumbling a little before nodding. Link straightened up and led her down from the village nodding to Theadd as they past the gates. He didn’t take her deep into the trees, and showed her how to pick out where the Truffles were hidden before they collected in silence for a little while.
“Why do you need so many?”
“I’m planning on making a large meal.” He answered, “these are the last ingredients I need.”
“Oh.” Aryll thought it over but continued collecting Truffles until Link deemed that they had more then enough and with their arms full they walked back to the village. Link leading her to his home and spreading the Truffles across the table before he went to get his water to wash the dirt off of them. He let Aryll look around as he worked, slowly exploring the lower house from the bathhouse to the storage area, then climbing the stairs and looking at the loft room before peeking inside his private room. Link had started cooking by the time she returned the smell of cooking meat. “You have a big house.” She informed him.
“Fairly,” Link agreed glancing over. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” The question got her to look over to the meat he was cooking and flush slightly as her stomach rumbled in hunger getting her to nod before going to clean her hands. When she returned Bolson and Karson had come in and were sitting around the table while Link set out four plates of food. Aryll timidly went to sit across from Bolson and noted that her plate’s food was already cut up for her.
“I’m going to miss your cooking,” the man sighed dramatically.
“You’re welcome to come over for dinner whenever you wish Bolson.” Link commented sitting next to Aryll.
“Yes well it won’t be an every night event, we’re busy men you know.” Bolson said. “Doing repairs on the town and commissions.”
“Of course.” Link agreed as he started eating. Aryll picked up her fork and got a bite, her eyes widened as she tasted it.
“Sad that you can’t join the company Link.” Karson commented casually. “Unfortunately you don’t fit company regulations, but you helped out quite a lot.” Link shrugged.
“I don’t think Construction’s my calling.” He commented.
“What is your calling I wonder.” Bolson mused his eyes flickering to the weapons. “If there was still a royal family to serve I’d imagine you to be a Knight.” Aryll glanced between them as they spoke, Link didn’t give an answer, just shrugging and continuing with his meal. They spoke quite a lot throughout dinner, Link was quiet and gave short responses most of the time but the other two didn’t seem to mind carrying the conversation until the food was gone but for a few scraps of leftovers that Bolson cheerfully claimed as his own. Aryll yawned and Link glanced at her as he cleaned up.
“There’s a bed upstairs if you’re too tired to walk home.” He offered but the girl shook her head.
“Thank you for dinner.” She said and Link watched her leave.
He invited her around for dinner regularly after that, occasionally bringing her into the woods to gather resources for meals. Aryll grew more and more comfortable around him to the point where she had decided to sleep on the spare bed a few nights to wake to the smell of breakfast. “Do you want to live here with me?” Link asked one evening while they ate some stew. Aryll blinked up at him.
“Live here…?” She asked uncertainty.
“We’re both alone.” Link said. “I thought, we could be alone together.” He offered looking down at her. “I can’t promise that it will always be like this, I may have to leave at times… but I will always come back. This is my home, and it could be yours too… if you want it to be.”
“Maybe…” Link smiled a little and nodded.
“I’m asking because there’s something I need to do tomorrow, and I might have to leave the village for a while because of it.” He explained and a nervous expression crossed Aryll’s face.
“When will you be back?” She asked in a small voice.
“As soon as I can be.” Link promised. “Karson and Bolson will look after you while I’m gone. It’s not forever, I promise.” That night, when darkness had long since fallen he wasn’t surprised to hear the door creek open and feel the pressure of a small body join him in the bed. His arm wrapped around Aryll protectively after she got under the blankets. The next evening he left the village, making sure that Aryll had eaten and was sound asleep, though she knew that Link planned on journeying out that night. He made sure the blankets covering her were secure to keep out the cold. “I’ll see you soon.” He vowed before taking out his Sheikah Slate and activating a warp point.