Chapter Text
Legend was a man of little fears. Monsters? Easy! He’s fought Hylia-knows-how-many? Saving worlds? All in a day’s work. However, it was when he laid his head down that the darkness found a way to slip through his defenses.
He was on a boat in the middle of the rocky seas. The thunder roared loudly in his ears as he tried to keep his boat from capsizing. Frantically, he looked around for any sign of land, somewhere to hide out the storm. Goddesses, how he hated thunder. His grip tightened on the ropes, ignoring the water droplets in his eyes that threatened to jeopardize his vision. Lightning struck the water beside him, sending a sound like the crack of a whip straight into his ears. Legend flinched and looked up at the sky. Surely the storm wouldn’t last forever. It had to end eventually.
“Thunderstorms? You’re going to have to try harder if you want me dead! I survived one once I can do it again!” He yelled through the rough sound of waves crashing and thunder booming.
Wait.
Again?
When was it that he—
Oh goddesses. It couldn’t be. Could it? If he was on this sea, then that meant this was a dream. Everything around him, the dangerous clouds, the angry seas. None of this was real. Lost in his thoughts, his grip loosened on the rope, causing him to plunge into the icy water. Fear seeped into him, replacing the chill that had settled in his bones. The sound of the angry storm above hit the water. As each wave threatened to pull him deeper, a soft voice resonated in his ears.
What was that? He couldn’t see. There was only darkness. The rain hitting the surface of the ocean slowly drowned out as Legend sunk deeper into the depths. He heard the voice clearer now as the storm above faded with distance. They were calling his name. How did they know who he was? Where were they? Who were they? It didn’t matter, none of this was real, including the small voice trying to pull at his mind. As he sunk deeper and deeper, the voice increased its crescendo until it was loud enough to pull him back from the dark.
It had been a long day of travel, but they had all finally figured out they were in Wind’s Hyrule and decided to camp for the night before setting off to find a village. They were running low on items, and it was about time they got to sleep somewhere with a roof, other than the leafy canopy that often served as one to the nine men. All of them were quick to drift off to sleep, lulled by the sounds of the ocean. All except one. Hyrule sat close to the fire. Though the fire still glowed strong, the flames were beginning to weaken as time went on. He would need to get more wood for it soon, he figured. It would be something to keep him awake in this unfamiliar territory. Not having had any beaches in his Hyrule, it was safe to say that he was outside his comfort zone. Hyrule had no idea how to deal with foes from the deep, and islands didn’t give Hyrule many places to run in case Ganon’s forces found him here. He felt like a mouse trapped in a cage. Nowhere to go and no way out. The only saving grace was the experienced sailor that slept like a log at his side. He didn’t know how Wind could do it. The waves gave no solace to his mind.
He rose from his position as he spotted another piece of firewood crumple under the heat of the flames.
“Might as well restock for the night…second watch will thank me when they wake up.”
After a while, he came back with firewood in his arms and strode to the fire to gently feed the wood to the flames. It seemed to crackle happily at the new kindling. Hyrule moved to where he was before, and heard what sounded like a terrified gasp. He looked around the camp, gazing over their sleeping bodies, before settling on the one in the back.
Legend’s face was scrunched up, and it looked like he had been crying. His hands were balled up next to his head, and the blanket had long since been kicked off. Nightmares among the group were not new. In fact, they were quite common. Without thinking, Hyrule quietly made his way to Legend’s side. Shaking his shoulder gently, trying to wake Legend up without startling him further. This isn’t going to be enough.
He began to pair shaking with calls to him. “Legend? Legend wake up.”
Tears rolled down Legend’s cheek causing his pink hair to stick to his face. He needed to wake up now.
“Link! Link wake up!” Hyrule called a little louder, looking around to see that no one else had stirred at the use of the name. “Link!”
Suddenly he bolted up, wide awake and breathing heavily. His eyes darting around.
“Where am I? Am I back on Koholint?”
Hyrule looked at him confused, never having heard of such a place. “Koholint? I don’t know—no, no, you’re on an island with me.” He gestures to the others. “With the nine of us.”
Legend bolts to standing. “No no. I need to find her. I need to tell her-“His words were cut due to hyperventilation. He looks like a terrified bunny.
“It’s okay,” Hyrule says, standing with Legend and putting a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. “Are you okay? Who’s her?”
It seemed to take a minute for Legend to register him. His expression changed from panicked to confused within a matter of seconds.
“You weren’t here last time,” Legend asked. “Why are you here? Are you the real Hyrule?”
Hyrule blinked at him a couple times. What? Real Hyrule? He smiled nervously at him, not letting go of his shoulders.
“Legend, Link, I am real. Everything else here is real too, was your dream that bad? We are in Wind’s Hyrule, remember?”
The pink-haired one looked at him for a few moments, as if trying to see if he was lying or not. His eyes darted over to the roll of the tides next to them. He seemed to stiffen at just the sight of them. Legend tore his gaze away from the too familiar, and much-too-real waters. After trying to recall his memory of the days before, his shoulders seemed to slump. Legend took a deep breath, collecting himself before meeting Hyrule’s eyes once more.
“Right…I remember. Sorry for concerning you, but I’m fine now. Just, go back to your watch.” At that Legend sat back down and prepared to go back to sleep. He paused, his gazes shifting around between all of the men sleeping. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to go back to sleep. Maybe I could be useful.”
“Time is next up on watch, and you know how much he doesn’t like last minute switches.” Hyrule shrugged. “I’m sorry but you can’t worm your way out of this. You’re not going to stay up all night because you had a nightmare. You need to find a way to relax. Vet, you are never one to be this shaken up, especially over a dream. You can talk to me, you know? If it’s because you don’t want the others to know, they don’t have to.”
He seemed to contemplate his words before letting out a mumble that was barely audible.
“Just, don’t have good experiences with Islands. My mind likes tricking me into thinking this is, well somewhere else.”
Legend was definitely playing down just how bad this island he visited had affected him. His gaze softened as he offered Legend his hand. Legend had made it clear to the group that he wasn’t a fan of physical contact. He said it often made him feel trapped and made him feel like he must escape from something. Probably a defense mechanism he had developed over the course of his many adventures. However, Hyrule wanted to make the offer.
What he didn’t expect was Legend to take him up on his offer. He gripped Hyrule’s hand in his, as if he were a lifeline. He brought Hyrule’s hand close to his chest as if it were the only thing anchoring him to the world of reality. His hand kept him from drifting away into dreams that wished to blend past and future, real and illusion.
Hyrule didn’t know how long it took for Legend to fall asleep. Eventually, he felt the grip on his hand loosen. He looked over to see Legend still holding onto his hand as he slept. Although this time, no tension tightened his face. The darker-haired boy didn’t pull his hand away, even if that meant that he would be unable to move for the rest of watch. Not only did it seem to help Legend, but Hyrule starts to feel a sense of peace flooding his body more than it had the entire night. If Ganon’s forces found him here, so be it. Hyrule knew he wouldn’t have to face them alone. Not anymore.