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Sunlight peeked through the billowing clouds to cast golden light upon the open field. A few trees dotted the landscape to offer shade to any passerby. Wildflowers left splashes of color to break up the monotony of the green hills. It should have made for a peaceful scene. But it was deathly quiet and still.
A crow called overhead to break the silence. Ravens and buzzards circled in the air soon after, ready to feast on a free meal. The injured had long been carted away, leaving only the dead behind to lay in their temporary resting places. Many of the bodies would be picked off by scavengers, the rest would be buried in a mass grave, side by side with their brothers in arms. A nobleman who perished had already been carted back to the capital to be buried as a war hero. No one would ever know how he tried to flee from battle the second he was face to face with an enemy.
Link stood silently in the wreckage, unable to move. He always did his best to keep his soldiers safe. But his best wasn’t good enough.
Their faces stuck out in his mind. He took the time to get to know the soldiers he commanded. Many of them trained alongside him before he was knighted, he remembered their playful jabs when they found out he’d been promoted. His situation was already unorthodox enough, treating his soldiers as equals was just the cherry on top for gossipmongers and other captains alike.
Maybe they had a point. Every loss weighed heavily on him. The guilt was eating him alive.
Jorro often talked about opening a bakery after the war’s end, he made some of the best fruit tarts. Nemi raised horses, a few of her foals were deemed worthy enough to be trained as knight mounts. Itho was a blacksmith apprentice before being conscripted, she wanted to return to her training. Mikal had two children at home that he talked fondly about at any given chance.
And now they were gone.
He wondered if they blamed him in their final moments. If they did, they were staying quiet about it. Link sighed and closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he was engulfed in darkness. His sense of direction was gone, the only thing he could tell for sure was that he was lying down. He hissed in pain when he sat up and his head bumped into something hard. This was bad. Had he been captured? A bit panicked, he reached his hands out to get a feel of his surroundings. A wall was behind him and on his left side, nothing was blocking him on his right.
He scrambled out and landed roughly on the floor. It was made of wood rather than dirt or stone in most prisons. Maybe this was an impromptu detainment, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time he was shoved into a room to be dealt with later.
The darkness made it difficult to navigate, he bumped into several different unidentified things until he finally located a door. To his relief, it was unlocked. Either his captors were incompetent or they didn’t expect him to wake anytime soon. He didn’t plan on sticking around to find out.
Link rushed out of the room and hurried down the dimly lit hallway. The door at the end was unlocked as well, when he opened it he was confused to see it led outside. Was escape really that easy? Something was wrong.
They should have restrained him. Injure one of his legs to render him incapable of fleeing. Cut his hair to shame and dishonor him. But no. There he stood in the faint moonlight, unbound, uninjured, and hair longer than he remembered it being.
A noise behind him startled him, he whirled around and was greeted with a familiar face.
“Off for a night stroll, Captain?” Sailor asked while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
He found himself unable to respond, his throat closed as it often did when he was in distress. The war was long over, no one here was trying to maim or kill him. Link nodded and looked at the path that winded around the inn.
“Alright, I’ll go with you,” Sailor said and moved to walk by his side, “someone’s gotta keep you out of trouble.”
Link appreciated the attempt at keeping the mood lighthearted, but he still found himself unable to speak. Having Sailor by his side was already a massive help, he didn’t feel quite as vulnerable. They didn’t walk too far, it couldn’t have been more than an hour.
When they returned to the inn, Twilight and Sky were sitting next to the fireplace in the lounge room. They glanced at each other before looking at him and Sailor. Sky stood and made a show of stretching his arms.
“Well, I should be off,” Sky said while pointing vaguely in the direction of his room, “Piper needs my help with something.”
“What do you mean Piper needs your help, it’s two in the damn morning,” Sailor said with a loud huff.
“Something about a malfunctioning train part, I don’t know, I don’t ask questions.”
“Right, sure,” Sailor said and crossed his arms.
Sky hurried back to his room, leaving the three of them alone.
“Do you want to sit?” Twilight asked softly, “there’s plenty of room.”
Link did want to sit. Nothing sounded more unappealing than being in his dark room with only a thin blanket for warmth. Rather than sitting next to Twilight, he sat opposite of him so he could be as close as possible to the fire. Sailor nestled next to him, they weren’t fully leaning against each other but their arms were touching in a comforting manner. A part of him feared Twilight would disapprove of the arrangement, but the truth of the matter was Sailor’s presence always brought his mind at ease. It was like having an older brother, one who happened to be half his age.
Twilight didn’t say anything about it, he seemed rather content. At one point, he shifted in his seat and he glanced at Sailor.
“I’m stayin’ right here,” Twilight announced carefully.
Link saw the reason for the declaration. Sailor was staring at Twilight with an expression that could kill.
“You better be,” Sailor grumbled.
“You’ve threatened to stab me five times now if I tried to ‘do any funny business’, I don’t even know what that means.”
“Oh, those weren’t threats, those were promises.”
“I believe you,” Twilight conceded and held his hands in a placating way.
They stayed quiet for a while after that, with nothing but the sounds of the crackling fire. It was incredibly late, but Link didn’t want to risk falling asleep when his mind was mostly elsewhere. He hated how clearly his memories came to him in dreams, he always woke confused as to where and when he was. If he hurt someone because he woke in a blind panic, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. So staying awake until his head was clear was the only option.
Link looked away from the fire. Sailor was asleep, he was fully leaning against him now. Twilight looked comfortable as well, his arms were draped over the top of the sofa. Link was grateful neither of them tried to get him to talk about what happened. People back home tended to know about his battle fatigue, it was almost a given. But he never talked about it, he never had a need to. He wasn’t sure he could.
His voice was still gone, he raised his hands slowly and hesitated before signing, “can you talk?”
“Sure,” Twilight said with a smile, “about anything?”
Link nodded in affirmation.
“Okay. My favorite cats are black and white ones, the fluffier the better. Bonus points if their pattern makes it look like they’re wearin’ lil’ socks. Then there’s the goats. Did’ya know there’s twenty different breeds of Ordon goats? Some are better at wool production, others are used for meat and dairy-”
Link listened while Twilight continued to talk. It was mostly about farming, there were no mentions of amazing battles or defeating monsters. It was nice.
His eyes grew heavy, and his mind was clear. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he was startled awake by a log that had fallen in the fire. This time, he knew where he was, everyone in the vicinity was an ally. His head was resting on top of Sailor’s, he had a feeling his neck would be sore in the morning. Twilight was still in the same spot, though he looked like he was struggling to stay awake.
“M’sorry,” Link mumbled after letting out a yawn.
“Don’t be. Though we should probably get to bed.”
Link agreed with that well enough, he carefully stood and carried Sailor in his arms. The boy merely snored in response. Twilight led the way down the hall and opened the door for him while placing a lantern in the room. It was a small room with only a dresser and a bunk bed, Link took great care in setting Sailor on the top bed without waking him. He sat on the lower bunk, mindful to not smack his head on the frame this time.
“Need anything else?” Twilight asked while standing in the doorframe to give him some space.
Link didn’t want him to go, but there were no other beds or chairs in the room. There was much he wanted to say, much he should explain, but he couldn’t.
“Thank you for your help,” he managed to say, “I have trouble sleeping sometimes. It’s… it can…”
He trailed off, unable to finish his thought. Nope. He couldn’t do this.
“May I?” Twilight asked, indicating to the room, Link nodded for him to enter. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. I am perfectly happy being a shoulder for you to lean on when you need it.”
Link took a deep breath. That sounded nice.
“Will you be my shoulder now?”
Twilight looked at him in surprise, he shut the door and sat next to him, the lantern flickered gently on the dresser. Link nestled himself so his back was against the wall, Twilight moved in next to him. Admittedly, it was slightly cramped. He placed an arm over Twilight and pulled him closer.
“Does this count as funny business?” Twilight whispered, and Link couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Sailor doesn’t stab you,” Link replied while closing his eyes and bringing the blanket over them.
This time when he fell asleep, it was dreamless and peaceful.