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The portal took them to Hyrule’s Hyrule – er, Hyrule’s era - yes, that sounded better. And it was much less confusing, in Legend’s opinion. “I need to go check on the princess and queen,” Hyrule said.
“We’ll come with you,” Legend offered.
“The guards don’t take kindly to unfamiliar faces,” Hyrule answered, “And I’m fastest by myself,”
“Are you going to be okay by yourself?” Time asked.
“I’ve done it ever since I can remember,” Hyrule answered, ignoring how Legend blanched at that statement, “So I don’t see why this time would be any different.”
“If you’re sure, then I guess it’s fine. Is there any good spot to meet back up?” Time asked.
Hyrule looked around, surveying his surroundings before responding. “There should be a town one day at a medium pace to the east and then a half day at a medium pace to the north? Or you could do the half day north first and then the full day east?”
“Hold up,” Warriors interrupted, “Did you really just say ‘should’? As in you aren’t sure?”
Hyrule cocked his head to the side, confusion written on his face. “I think there is? I’ve never seen a map until I met you guys, so I can’t say for certain.”
“Dear goddesses, we’re going to get lost,” Legend moaned.
“No, we won’t,” Wild answered, “His instructions were clear.”
“Meet you guys there?” Rulie asked innocently.
“Okay, meet there. How many days do you think you’ll be?” Time queried.
Hyrule thought for a moment. “One day after you get there? Maybe two?”
“We’ll wait for you then,” Time said with a nod of his head. Hyrule darted off.
The trek to the town went without problems, unless Warriors’ complaining about mud and dirt in his hair counted. Hyrule had forgotten about Four’s short legs, so they arrived mid-afternoon instead. The residents were happy to see well-armed men in town to guard them. Warriors was quick to find the bar and begin flirting. The drunk ladies were more than happy to flirt right back and even shared some gossip about the black bloods. Warriors returned to one of the inn rooms Time had rented for the night a few hours later covered in about ten lipstick stains on his face alone, receiving mixed reactions from the other heroes.
Legend laughed at the sight. “You even get anything besides kisses and too much to drink?” he teased.
“Yes, I did, actually, you pink-haired brat,” Warriors replied in his most lofty tone.
“It’s ONE part!” Legend cried, annoyed.
“What did you learn, captain?” Time interrupted.
“There’s some rumor about black bloods to the southwest. Also, Hyrule and his efforts are not appreciated. They said he was cursed by Ganon at the very end and that his blood can resurrect him. Apparently, monsters chase him everywhere. They called him a good-for-nothing bastard.” Warriors finished in a whisper.
“Poor kid,” Legend whispered, “They don’t call him those kinds of things to his face, do they?”
“I didn’t ask,” Warriors answered, “But people who didn’t like some of my actions in the war will come to festivals that celebrate its end and with curse me out if Zelda makes me show my face. The guards and other knights have to escort them elsewhere. I can’t say that it’s outside the realm of possibility.”
“Hyrule ought to be back in maybe a day or two,” Time reminded them, “Do we go after the monsters and leave someone here in case he arrives, or do we wait for him to come back to take care of the monsters?”
“I’ll stay here for him,” Legend offered, “I don’t like the idea of not taking care of those monsters.”
“Alright, don’t unpack too much, we’ll head out for those monsters at first light,” Warriors announced. He was met by various agreement from the other heroes, including Wind’s energetic ‘Aye, aye!’
The heroes returned to their various rooms, Legend alone in the bed across from Wild. Legend tossed and turned, unused to sleeping without contact with Hyrule, preferably wrapped around the younger boy's body as though he were a human shield. Wild must have noticed, because he asked, “Are you okay, Legend?”
“No, I can’t sleep without Hyrule in my arms,” Legend answered.
Wild got up from his bed and padded over to Legend’s, footsteps barely audible. With a huff, he vaulted right over Legend’s prone body and into the bed. He pulled the covers down, briefly, and then pulled them back over himself and Legend. Legend wrapped his arms around Wild. Wild was a good bit bigger than Rulie and Legend himself, but it did the job, and Legend fell into a light sleep. Sadly, he was roused by Wild waking up for the excursion. “Good luck,” Legend whispered into the semi-dark room before pulling the blankets back over his head, trying to fall back asleep.
Legend next woke just slightly after sunrise and headed down to get the inn’s courtesy breakfast. He ate delicately by himself, enjoying the silence. If he closed his eyes, he could even imagine Hyrule out cold upstairs in the bed, having overexerted himself in his magic usage, and the rest of the Links causing chaos elsewhere in town. Legend returned to the room to do some mending, Hyrule had given him his primary tunic because it was more holes than fabric.
Legend forced his worries into each tiny little stitch, even though he had no reason to be. Yet he couldn’t shake that feeling, a tingling, sickening sensation that his successor was in danger. He’d felt it the night Zelda had called out to him, the days before a quest.
Legend finished mending the tunic before lunch. He paused, went to the one place to eat in the town, and then returned to the room. He pulled out a whetstone and dagger, intending to sharpen it. Several hours later he’d moved on to his backup dagger, and the chain burst into the room, loudly.
They were covered in mud, black blood, soot and grime, but they all seem pleased that the monsters were no longer a threat.
“Did Hyrule return?” Wild asked. Legend shook his head sadly.
“Well, he should be here tomorrow.” Time said, resting a comforting hand on Legends’ shoulder.
“I can repeat last night?” Wild offered, “If you think it would help.”
“It can’t hurt,” Legend said, “Thanks.”
“Last night?” Warriors asked. “What happened last night?”
Wild grinned, a maniacal thing that revealed all his teeth. “I’ll let Legend tell you if he’s okay with that. Anyways, I should go make dinner.”
The heroes left the room, with Legend telling Warriors that no, he did not want to share what happened last night. Warriors herded Wild to the nearby washbasin, forcing the hero to at least rinse his hands. The others followed suit, relieved to be rid of the yucky film their hands were coated in.
Hyrule didn’t arrive before dinner, nor before bed. Legend curled around Wild in an attempt to ignore the growing sense of dread in his gut. Legend tried for at least an hour before falling asleep. When he awoke, Hyrule still hadn’t arrived.
“Don’t fear, he is a hero in his own right,” Time reminded, “And he said it could be two days later that he meets up with us.”
Legend grimaced, still worried. That sense of dread from last night had grown, now a dark, foreboding emotional storm cloud. The heroes ate all three meals without Hyrule yet again. He didn’t show up for bed, either.
Legend didn’t sleep that night, and cuddling Wild did nothing to ease his nerves.
“I think something’s wrong,” Legend whispered to Time, standing on the steps of the inn.
“I agree. But where would we even begin looking? Our Hyrules are vastly different, even the ones that follow another.”
Legend sighed, hating that Time was right. “What can we do?”
“Hope for the best, and make sure he knows he’s loved by us when he returns. I haven’t forgotten what Warriors said the villagers call him, unfortunately,”
“One more day and I’m going to set out in a random direction looking for him,” Legend grumbled, spinning on his heel and storming back into the inn.
Time sighed. Just like yesterday, Hyrule made no appearance, ever. Legend was so worried about his successor that he’d lost his dinner when he’d gone to use the facilities, and came out looking worse for wear. “Tomorrow we’ll look for him. Make sure to rest if you can so your eyes are at their peak to search for him,” Time ordered.
Legend nodded and tugged Wild off to bed, wordlessly. Sleep evaded Legend yet again, but he laid there trying to fall asleep anyways. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind conjured a gruesome image of an injured – or worse, a dead - Hyrule, collapsed and bloody, curled around the injury. What if they were too late? Legend would never forgive himself if that were the case. Legend uncurled from his position where he held Wild captive when the sun’s rays peeked through the window. Wild stirred and Legend froze, worried he’d wake the fellow hero up if he continued. Then Wild yawned and sat up.
“Going to look for Rulie?” Wild asked. Legend nodded, getting up and beginning to shove his things into a bag. “Would you like something to eat first?”
Legend paused. “You know, that’d be nice.”
Legend continued packing while Wild tiptoed down the stairs to begin breakfast. Legend slung his things over his shoulder a few minutes later and was greeted with breakfast downstairs. Legend sat and ate quickly while Wild slipped some preserved food into Legend’s pack. “Good luck, Ledge,” Wild whispered, hugging the hero.
“Thanks,” Legend whispered back.
Legend didn’t make it more than twenty feet past the front gate. He saw Rulie before him, bruised all over (one eye was swollen shut) and limping towards the gate. Legend ran at his successor, filled with worry. Hyrule took another ‘step’, if it could even be called that and collapsed to his knees, his leg clearly unable to support his weight any longer. “Hey, Rulie,” he said, kneeling by the teen.
“H-hey,” Rulie stuttered, “S-sorry I t-took so long.”
“I can tell you ran into trouble. Would you like to tell me about it while I carry you back?” Legend offered, knowing Rulie didn’t always want touched. Hyrule nodded, moving his body into Legend’s lap.
“The princess and queen are okay,” Hyrule whispered weakly, “In case you were wondering.”
“I admit I was more concerned about you, but that’s nice to hear,” Legend told him.
“I was about a day from the castle when some monsters found me. They knocked me out after I put up a good fight and I wake up with my leg like this.”
“Warriors will know what to do,” Legend told Hyrule confidently.
Hyrule shrank into Legend’s arms. “I don’t want to wake him just for that,” he mumbled into Legend’s tunic.
“I think he’ll be fine,” Legend said, “Actually, he’ll be pretty mad at you for not waking him,”
“Okay,” Hyrule whispered, his voice soft and barely audible.
Legend carried Hyrule through the gate. He looked like a random child, curled in Legend’s arms, not the hero Legend knew him to be. The guards ignored the duo as they passed. Legend carried Hyrule all the way to the inn, where Wild ran up to him.
“Is he okay?” Wild asked.
“M fine,” Rulie answered.
“We need Warriors to check his leg,” Legend told Wild.
“On it,” Wild said, nodding, and disappearing in the direction of Warriors’ bedroom. He returned a few minutes later with a sleepy-eyed Warriors in tow.
“Set him down,” Warriors ordered. Wild pulled out a chair and Legend set Hyrule in it. Warriors began at Hyrule’s ankle, tracing his leg up to his knee. “Oh, no.”
Legend tensed. “Oh, no, what? Warriors?”
Warriors grimaced. “They broke his leg and healed it wrong.”
Legend swore. “It doesn’t hurt. Besides, I don’t mind matching Legend when he has one of his flares,” Rulie whispered.
“Your pain tolerance concerns me, kid,” Warriors and Legend said synchronously. If it had been a light-hearted situation, they all would have laughed.
“You’re going to be limping until we get this fixed, you know. That means no running,” Warriors informed him.
Hyrule went pale, answering, “What do you need to do?”
“I’m going to have to break it in order to heal it properly,” Warriors answered.
“You can’t,” Legend begged, “You have to have something to knock him out with, right?”
“The hilt of my sword? I don’t have any anesthesia,” Warriors answered.
“The last thing we need is for him to have a head injury,” Time added, appearing at the bottom of the stairs, “And yes, I heard most of the conversation.”
“Come here,” Legend whispered to Hyrule, pulling the smaller hero into his arms. “It’s going to hurt, but I am right here, okay?”
Hyrule’s nod was barely distinguishable from the trembling of his body. Hyrule clung tightly to Legend’s body, not looking at his leg. Legend nodded, and Warriors snapped the re-healed bone. Hyrule released a whimper, but did not cry out. Warriors began rotating the bone back to its proper angle, and Legend faintly registered something wet on the front of his tunic. “Hey, hardest part’s over,” Warriors announced, uncorking a fairy, smiling as the tiny pink glow circled Hyrule’s injured leg.
Warriors scootched back, listening to Hyrule’s soft sobs wash over his ears. “It’s over,” he said, putting on the most soothing voice he could manage. The sobs slowly became hiccups, and those hiccups became snores.
“Poor thing, he must be exhausted,” Wild added as Legend once again lifted Hyrule into his arms. Wild held the bedroom door open for Legend, who laid Hyrule under the abandoned covers, flopped on the bed himself, and pulled the blanket over both of them. Legend’s own body finally gave into exhaustion as well. The last thing Legend heard was the clicking of the slate’s camera.