Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since Ravio returned home to Lorule. As soon as he got back, he flung himself right back into the large pile of work that there was to do. He barely had a moment's rest at first, but things were luckily quieting down a bit now. 

The first thing he had done was help Hilda write an important speech for her coronation and the kingdom-wide celebration for the restoration of the Triforce. In reality, he had written most of it while Hilda gave him a list of things to include, but it was better if the general public did not realize that. Besides, Hilda was still his friend and he would not sell her out like that even if offered a hefty bribe. 

Hilda was in a bit of a tough spot, with the untimely death of the king and the opinions of her subjects being divided. Generally, the common folk did not care who was in charge as long as they could continue with their work and the taxes were reasonable. However, when the monster threat in the kingdom increased substantially upon Hilda’s alliance with Yuga, many took issue with the royal family. Most were luckily quick to forgive or just happy that the land was no longer decaying after the Triforce had been restored. Those who did not, though, were quite vocal. And that was not even mentioning those masked cultists that were still wailing about. 

Then there was the matter of the soldiers, or the lack thereof. Many had been killed and new recruits still were in the process of being trained, spreading those who remained very thin at the moment. Ravio did not fault Link for this as terrible as it was that things came to that, but it still made his job as a royal advisor harder than it already was. While it was unlikely that any of the neighboring kingdoms would use Lorule’s weakened defenses as an opportunity for war given that they had the Triforce again, the possibility kept Ravio’s nerves on edge. 

The last main issue that would need fixing was the matter of the royal family line. The King’s untimely death led to Hilda being the sole heir to the throne. She had no heirs herself, meaning if something were to happen to her, that would be the royal family’s demise. The civil unrest and all-out wars for the country that would cause would just be too much for the already fragile hold that the Lorulian government had. As a result, the land would likely descend into chaos until another brave soul decided that they wanted the Triforce for themselves. 

Ravio groaned while sinking further into his desk chair. He had been working through a migraine for the past several days due to all the stress and it was killing him. Rubbing the side of his face in exhaustion and taking off his reading glasses, he wondered to himself why he even offered to pick up the slack on the mountains of paperwork yet to be done. Oh right, it was because he would be stressed out of his mind from worry and anxiety if he did not do something–not that doing so made him any less worried, anxious, or stressed, mind you. 

It felt like he had done nothing of substance since he got back while also being constantly busy working on something. Or thinking through the same issue for the hundredth time trying to find a better solution than he already came up with. Or just worrying that his proposed solution would then cause another problem to arise that would only add even more stress on top of what he and Hilda already were dealing with. That was really all he was doing; stressing and worrying about things he was severely under qualified to handle. It made him wonder how close he was to the limits of stress and worry that the Lolian body could take. It certainly felt like he was nearing it. For all his nervousness about being attacked by monsters, of course it would be the paperwork that would do him in. 

And the stress. Can’t forget the stress. 

Ravio took a deep breath to try to calm his racing mind at least somewhat. While he had no faith that he would be able to continue working at this point, it would hopefully help ease the tightness in his chest at the very least. Besides, Hilda had invited him to tea that evening and he was not one to refuse royal orders. At least, not for the most part. 

It was still a little early, so Ravio made his way to the bathroom connected to his room. It was a perk of rooming in the castle that he had sorely missed. As he had done every time before since he got back, he stared into his reflection in the silver mirror. 

After needing to stay in his rabbit hood and robe for so long, it was strange seeing himself again. He had dark circles under his eyes from troubled sleep complemented by a crease between his eyebrows due to his intense concentration the past few weeks. Quickly brushing through his hair with his fingers so it would look at least a little less disheveled, he stepped back. 

Ravio looked presentable enough according to his standards. Though he still wore the blue and black striped scarf he knitted for himself, it was now pinned together with the golden Triforce brooch awarded to him for his apparent heroism. While he did not entirely agree with his status as a hero, the symbol gave the people hope, and he would not dare to take that away from them. The Lolian just hoped that their expectations for what he as a hero should be were low enough so that he would not inevitably disappoint them. 

The rest of his outfit was newly gifted to him by Hilda. Most of his other clothes were either too small for him now or not deemed fitting for his new role, but at least the new ones were still comfortable. He wore a long purple tunic that opened at the sides and was cinched in at the waist with a dark brown belt. Under that, Ravio had on a black fitted undertunic, though it was mostly covered. His light cream colored trousers were probably the least comfortable part of his outfit, but they did keep the various snobby castle dwellers who were invited to stay for the time being from giving him judgmental looks as he walked down the corridors of the castle. 

The worst part about his reflection though was that it reminded Ravio of him . Sure, their hair and eyes were different and the Lolian was much tanner than his counterpart, but….

With a sigh and a quick splash of water on his face, he left his room in the castle to make his way to Hilda’s study. 

Ravio thankfully managed to get past everyone he came across without being interrupted. He simply kept a fake smile plastered on his face and nodded politely to anyone who said hello without breaking his stride. It was something he learned after being forced into hiding. Well, not forced necessarily, more threatened, but he had been a coward and ran. While he was happy after the fact that Hilda did not believe he was the true culprit for her father’s death, it must not have looked good for his innocence at the time. 

That was in the past, though, and now he had his old room in Lorule castle back, so he must have done something right. 

Maybe. 

Hopefully. 

Besides, the kingdom had not collapsed yet. In fact, the parts which had physically collapsed into the void were slowly being restored by the Triforce. That was good, right? Of course, it did not mean much for his actual competence as a royal adviser, but he could lie to himself for a bit. Not that he was very good at it. Guess that was another thing Ravio could add to his list. 

Before he could be lost in his thoughts any longer, the Lolian finally reached Hilda’s study. Well, in reality, he had just been standing there staring at the door for a while fidgeting with the ends of his sleeves. He was admittedly nervous about being in the same room with her again. Ravio loved her like a sister and all, but it still felt awkward between them, their interactions feeling too stiff and formal. It made his heart hurt a little knowing how much their relationship had changed since they first met around six years ago. 

Putting that aside and taking a deep breath, Ravio knocked on the door to the study. After hearing the call to come in from the other side, he went inside.

Ravio was immediately met with an enthusiastic squawk accompanied by his own surprised squeak at the white blur that flew at him. 

“Sheerow!” He scolded, slightly out of breath and clutching his chest while recovering from the scare. The bird in question was now fluttering around him in excited circles. It made it very difficult to stay mad at her. “You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days if you keep doing that, you know? And then who's going to feed you, huh?” 

He really needed to train her to stop doing that every time they reunited. If the paperwork and stress did not do him in first, Sheerow’s newfound habit would probably be the death of him. 

“Oh, there’s no need to worry about that. I would and I think she knows it too.” Queen Hilda replied, watching the interaction with a smirk on her normally stern face. 

Ravio clutched at his chest again, but this time in mock disbelief, before dramatically turning towards his avian companion. “First I asked you to keep her company and now you’re plotting to have her as your new owner? Sheerow, how could you! The betrayal!” 

Hilda chuckled under her breath and, if only for a brief moment, it felt like how it was before. The moment did not last, however, because the queen’s smile soon turned sad like it so often did in recent times. 

Ravio let his own expression fall to match the room’s sudden change in atmosphere. It told of the beginning of a more serious conversation, so he slowly lowered himself into the chair on the unoccupied side of Hilda’s desk. Sheerow seemed to sense the change as well, for she returned to his shoulder where she usually sat, markedly calmer than before. “Everything all right, Your Majesty?” 

“I—yes…. You do know you don't need to address me as such when we speak in private, right?” 

“Oh. O-of course. Just habit, I suppose.”

Hilda nodded, not quite meeting her adviser’s eyes. She seemed to be trying to decide whether or not to say something. Ravio wanted to fill the uncomfortable silence with something—maybe words of encouragement for these times of transition—but he came up empty. As much as he liked to talk and ramble about whatever happened to be on his mind at the moment, the awkwardness of the current situation seemed to have purged him of all coherent thoughts. 

Finally, Hilda appeared to have made up her mind and spoke up. “Tea?”

“Please, if you don’t mind.” 

She poured steaming amber liquid into delicate cups with the teapot sitting on a small cart not too far away. It, like everything else in the room, was old but ornate. Shelves filled with books on various topics and the occasional trinket or tool for whatever task may be done in the room lined the walls on either side of them. A few of Ravio’s old experiments were there too. 

It was honestly a bit odd seeing them again after all this time. Both the experiments and the room as a whole, that is. Well, Hilda too for that matter. For a while, he had assumed that he would never be able to set foot into Lorule again after making his way to Hyrule, let alone the castle. Ravio had made peace with that, but being here, and with his childhood friend no less, brought back memories. So much had happened since then yet everything looked almost exactly as it was. Almost. 

Handing him his tea, Hilda began speaking once again. “There actually was something that I wanted to talk to you about. It’s the reason why I asked you to come here in the first place.”

 Ravio’s heart picked up its pace as the all-too-familiar feeling of panic began to rise in his chest. Calming his breathing and taking a slow sip of his tea, the man reminded himself that this was Hilda. It was fine. He would be fine. Nothing was going to happen. There was no reason for her it to mean anything bad . At least, not that he could come up with in the moment. If he was given more time, he could probably come up with something.

She continued, still clearly trying to choose her words. “I've noticed that you've been a bit…off lately. You talked briefly about what happened after you fled, and correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think that’s all it is. I can see how exhausted you are, Ravio. You've been running yourself through the ground.” 

Ravio chuckled nervously, unsure of where this conversation was going to go. He rubbed the back of his neck with the hand not gripping a teacup, and said, “Well, it’s been a big change, I guess. I’ve just been trying my best to help Lorule get back on its feet, ya know. Someone has to, right? Oh, uh…I realize how that sounded. It's not that you’re not doing a wonderful job yourself, of course–because you are. I just meant—”

The look Hilda gave her royal advisor made him cut off his rambling. Ravio swallowed. The lack of anger calmed him a little but he was still on edge. Conversations like this never were very comfortable were they?  

 His childhood friend gave him a tired smile. “You have done so much for the kingdom already, even if you would try to deny it. I don’t want you to be stressed out of your mind feeling like it's all on you. If anything, I should be the one panicking to fix everything, not you.”

“Hildy…”

“While we may have drifted apart over the years, you are still that scrappy kid with an aptitude for magic and was taken in by my father. I have been around you long enough to know that having you spend your time on paperwork is a waste of your skills. You found Link so you could help him as best you could, so please, let someone else help you like you helped him.”

Ravio looked down at the hands in his lap. He had tried to push it out of his mind, but hearing that name made something in his chest hurt. The fissures between their worlds had closed. They would never see each other again. Why was the reminder so painful now? 

Besides, he had a duty to fulfill. He could not just leave his job to someone else while he frolicked around in the fields or something. As much as Ravio wanted to start a new life, go back to working on new enchantments, open a shop that was not some part of a larger plan to save an entire kingdom, and retire, the guilt of just leaving again would eat him alive. The only reason it did not before was that he did it out of desperation. He needed help stopping Yuga’s plans and it was not like he could have exactly stayed anyway. 

 “I can’t just abandon Lorule…abandon you,” Ravio said. His voice was smaller than he would have liked, but he met Hilda’s eyes anyway.

“I realize that, and that is why I would never ask you to. I simply wish to reassign your duties. If you agree to your new ones, of course.” 

 Oh. 

 Well, that grabbed his attention. 

In retrospect, he honestly was not sure why part of him immediately thought he was going to be forcibly made to retire or something similar. Sometimes it was good that he always assumed the worst; it made him better at coming up with plans. This was apparently not one of those times. Still, he tempered his optimism about what these new duties might entail just in case. 

Hilda must have seen him perk up a bit because she suddenly looked more confident in what she was about to say. “I know that we had both thought that all connections to Hyrule closed up, but it has come to my attention that a new fissure has been found.”

Ravio sputtered for a second, blinking rapidly at Hilda as he processed the information. It certainly was odd. He personally had seen them all close–or at least he watched their source close and heard that the rest were reported to have vanished as well. “Wait, what? But…how? Why?” 

What did it mean for the connection to Hyrule?

Some of the tension left Hilda’s shoulders as she huffed out an amused breath at her advisor’s reaction. “I don’t know much more about it than you do. It apparently appeared out of nowhere today by the graveyard to the north. It was a great shock to me as well.” 

“Do you know where it leads?” Ravio asked, skeptical but with his excitement steadily growing at the possibility. He continued, “Because for all we know there could be a whole other dimension. Maybe it would be called Midrule or something, I don’t know. Although come to think of it, you would not have been able to figure that out without having the ability to enter it, so I guess you don’t need to answer that. Is that why you wanted to talk to me? So you could figure out where it went?”

Hilda nodded while clearly holding back a smile at Ravio’s questions. “Well, that too, but there is a more important reason.”

“Oh? Do tell.” 

“If my suspicions are correct and it does lead to Hyrule, I was hoping that you would serve as an ambassador to represent Lorule and form an alliance between our two kingdoms. Although it's not fair of me to ask, and you only just got back, there is no one I would trust more for this task. You may, of course, have as much time as you need if you believe this is too soon and to make your decision. I've seen how you get when you talk about Hyrule, though, and I'm sure you would enjoy this much more than doing paperwork.” 

“That’s true….” Ravio trailed off. 

He stayed quiet for a moment to think. Ever since he had gotten back, he had not been able to shake this feeling of longing. What for, exactly, he was not sure, but it had to do with Hyrule. He had tried to just push the place out of his mind but the feeling remained and was lit anew. As nervous as he was about leaving again, the idea of traveling there was too intriguing. 

It would also give him time to work on his inventions. Maybe he could even open a shop like he wanted to or at least have a stall in the marketplace. Ravio may not have been good at fighting or split-second decisions, but he was good at persuasion and negotiation. 

If the fissure did lead to Hyrule, Link would be there too. Maybe he would…

“So, when am I to leave?” He asked to keep himself from becoming too lost in his thoughts. 

Hilda was clearly amused by his change in mood. “I’m assuming that's a yes, then.” 

“Well, I’m assuming it comes with a raise,” Ravio returned playfully while looking expectantly at the now openly laughing Hilda. He was mostly joking. Mostly.

Chapter Text

Ravio rushed back to his room in the castle as fast as he possibly could while still walking. It meant that Sheerow impatiently flew around him, but that was fine. After all, he still had to retain some amount of dignity. Try as he might though, the Lolian could not keep the start of a grin off his face or the slight skip in his step at the prospect of Lorule being connected to Hyrule once again. 

It was different from the last time. He was not running away. Instead, he was running towards. 

Spending his days doing more than just paperwork was a plus too. 

Ravio and Hilda decided that the former would be leaving the following day. To the uninitiated it might have seemed too soon to jump into such things, but he had a hard time sitting still when he had something he could do. While he would miss Lorule, he would be coming back. There also were enough sour memories of the place that the actual act of leaving was not that difficult. It was part of the reason why he was not too apprehensive about leaving to find someone who could help the first time. Outside of, you know, the whole desperation thing. And morals, because he did have some.

Well, that was a lie. He had more than some.

Outside of Hilda and his aunt’s old house, the man honestly had nothing much else in Lorule. Sure, he would talk with most of the people he came across in the past, but he did not really forge connections with them. In that regard, he kept mostly to himself and his work. 

Ravio’s house, which had acted more like his workshop than an actual place of living when he served Hilda before, had clearly been ransacked while he was gone. Part of that was his own doing, admittedly, so he knew nothing of value remained there. It had been quite the surprise when he found a large hole in the back wall that appeared to have been made by a bomb, though. At least he had already grabbed everything he cared about when he left the first time, so it was not that big of a deal. Still a pain to fix if he wanted to live there again in the future, but he would be getting a new backdoor out of his effort at least. That was a bonus, right?

Reaching the door to his room and going inside, Ravio quickly found the bag he used when he initially went to Hyrule that was stashed under an antique nightstand. He had enchanted it himself to make it practically bottomless. It would be the perfect thing to carry everything he needed even if it did not change how much the stuff it contained weighed. Sadly, it just meant that he would have to pack lighter than he otherwise might.

Taking a moment to think, Ravio glanced around the space he had lived in for a few years now. 

The room itself was rather large. While it paled in comparison to the majesty which was Her Majesty’s quarters, it was among the more extravagant of Lorule Castle’s many bedrooms, perhaps being behind only the ones made for actual royalty. All of the furnishings inside were old but well taken care of due to the state of the kingdom. Much fewer people made expensive furniture nowadays, with most just focusing on basic survival. If it worked, no one cared much for its appearance. 

One side of the room was turned into a workshop of sorts for enchanting and writing. Gems for experiments and enchanting, a golden scale, unenchanted rings, and unfinished magic rods all cluttered the many shelves fixed to the stone wall. At the moment, the desk itself was covered with paperwork that someone else would be collecting later. 

Ravio doubted he would miss the room that much. It was a bit too stuffy and the stone, despite being covered in practically ancient red and purple tapestries and rugs, made the place feel too cold for his liking. It never truly felt like home. Outside of his workspace and his bag which he now propped up against the footboard of his bed, it barely looked like anyone lived there at all. The lack of his imprint despite staying there even before everything with Yuga made it all the easier to just leave both now and then. He would be coming back soon enough anyway. He just needed to keep reminding himself that.  

Speaking of, he should probably start packing. 

Sheerow flew off his shoulder to a somewhat ornate perch that was kept on the heavy desk at one end of the room. Ravio figured that he should probably bring that, though he would have to wait until the next day to actually pack it. 

Other than that, he began neatly putting whatever he thought he might need in his bag. It was almost freeing being able to take his time instead of having to just shove the bare minimum into his bag. Soon, Ravio’s bag was heavy with clothes, stationary, miscellaneous traveling supplies, enchanting materials, and unfinished projects. Hopefully the walk to Hyrule castle would not be too far… if, of course, the fissure even led to Hyrule in the first place. 

Well that thought certainly dampened his mood. 

Ravio closed his eyes to focus on his breathing, predicting the arrival of the new wave of anxiety that soon washed over him. He had been so taken by the possibility that he ignored the fact that where the fissure led to was anyone’s guess. For all he knew, it could lead to a world of nothing but death and destruction. Or straight into the mouth of an active volcano. Or the middle of an ocean with nothing but endless water in sight except for a random wall for the fissure to attach to for some reason. Or—

The man shook himself from his thoughts. If something dangerous was on the other side, he could just turn right back around to Lorule. Yep, he could definitely do that. Sure he could. 

Admittedly, Ravio did not have much in the way of experience going through fissures, so he was not sure what would happen if he found himself in a completely inhospitable environment once he emerged. With how shallow his actual pool of magic was, he also did not want to risk getting stuck between worlds. He would happily leave that for someone else with less self preservation to test out no matter how curious he was himself. 

Besides, the potential danger was the entire reason why he and Hilda did not just send Sheerow in by herself with a letter— or any actual carrier pigeons for that matter. Ravio had wandered into the unknown once before; he could do it again… hopefully. It was better than having his closest companion turn into fried cucco without him knowing it, though. 

Ravio wandered over to his workspace. In a separate enchanted bag leaning against one of the desk’s legs, all of his finished and possibly useful experiments were already arranged according to their potential utility, ready to be taken wherever they needed to go. It was one of the first things he had done after returning in case he needed to quickly flee again. They were his personal set of items, so they would not be for sale… unless, of course, someone were to offer a more powerful item in return… he might make an exception then. For now though, the bag was just missing one item he would need. 

The bracelet that had originally brought him to Hyrule had been destroyed after the last of its magic was used, but the smelly thing was only one of two magical objects that could turn people into paintings. The other was now in Ravio’s possession. 

He had originally been given the ancient bracelet by the late king to study. Apparently, no one knew what it did despite it having an obviously powerful enchantment, and The King thought the inventor kid that had lived on the streets less than five years prior was the perfect person to crack the mystery. It took a while, but said inventor kid actually managed to copy the enchantment to a magic rod. It was a surprise to everyone including himself. He had wished he never did it, though, for a while. 

That scepter— staff, magic rod, magic wand, whatever you wanted to call the thing— was part of the reason why Yuga came to Lorule Castle in the first place. He was known to be a great sorcerer, so he was welcomed when he claimed that he had a plan to restore the Triforce. Ravio was suspicious of the man and his plan, but, intrigued, The King invited Yuga to talk. That was when the staff was stolen and, well, everything else happened. Between Sheerow being seen fleeing the scene of the crime after spying from outside a window, the staff which was left with The King’s body, and the many unfavorable rumors surrounding Ravio, everyone believed that he did it. Subsequently vanishing after Yuga threatened him into running certainly did not bode well for his perceived innocence either. 

As much as he loathed what the scepter was used for after Yuga claimed it as his own, Ravio would need to use it to go through the fissure. He had considered enchanting something else that could do the same thing, but he would rather not risk using something hastily made without sufficient testing to ensure he did not just get stuck on the side of a random wall for the rest of eternity. It would not be a good way to go. 

It also would be better if as few items existed as possible that could let people enter another dimension. More ways to cross into a different dimension meant more of a chance for some new sorcerer to attempt to take over the world. As unlikely as it sounded, it was a surprisingly common occurrence if what Link said about his previous adventures was any indication. Ravio was not going to let that happen again. Not on his watch. Link was already overworked enough as it was, and he did not need Ravio running for his help a second time. 

Due to all that, the scepter was hidden away somewhere only Ravio and Hilda (and a handful of dead guys) knew about. That somewhere was where he now needed to get to. 

Crouching down beside his desk, the man felt around the stone floor a bit for a divot deeper than the rest. It only took a few seconds for him to find and dig his nails under it, activating a mechanism that opened up a hidden staircase under where his desk stood. 

A smile flitted across Ravio’s face at the sight. Old mechanisms like that were always fascinating to watch. As annoying as it was to crawl around on the floor and under the desk in order to enter the secret passage, it kept the place extra secure and he could not fault the design for his own choice of desk placement. Did he choose it specifically because he was paranoid? No, definitely not. 

Sliding down the first few steps until he had enough head room to stand again, Ravio began his descent.  Apparently, it was an old safe room of sorts that a previous royal adviser had built to keep dubious plans and artifacts away from the eyes of the royal family. The only reason why the Lolian royal family knew of its existence now was that the princess of the time figured out that something was going on and caught said royal advisor in the act by chance. 

Luckily, the steep staircase was not too long, so he quickly reached his destination and walked through a narrow archway. The torches in the room magically lit themselves as he entered, just barely lighting up the place enough to dispel the darkness in the middle where an old cauldron sat. Chests, ancient enchanting and alchemical apparatuses, dusty work tables, bookcases, and glass cases lined the surrounding walls. Only the rotting pages of old books too far gone to make out any of their words and bottles of unknown concoctions were left laying out in the room, everything of value having been relocated long ago. Now all that remained were the artifacts deemed too dangerous to keep elsewhere and the dust everything else left behind. 

Making his way to a long glass case on the left side of the room, Ravio quickly glanced at the rest of the objects and artifacts that rested within the various cases around the room. One had what appeared to be broken pieces of mirror laced with some kind of dark magic along with a circular pendant and a silver harp that oddly looked like one depicted in an old Lorulian history book. Another held three strange masks and two large gemstones cut into the shapes of significant symbols whose meanings were lost on Ravio at the moment. The other cases all had similar objects inside, though it was a wonder how they all had ended up in the same place. It made him question on several occasions how wise it was to keep them all in there together even if the room was hidden away. 

In the case of interest sat the golden scepter. Even in the room’s low lighting, the crystals appeared to have an otherworldly glow despite not actually producing any light themselves. 

Upon using some of his magic to create a tiny spark aimed at its latch, the lid flew open with a soft click. 

He had made the case only unlock once it came into contact with magic. Few enough people used magic that the non specificity of it should keep everything inside safe were someone to somehow find the room. Granted, if someone found it, they probably would have done so using powerful magic, but there would probably be little to be done to stop them from finding a way to get into the case at that point anyway. It was a lot of precaution for a relatively innocent tool, but Ravio was nothing if not cautious when the option was available. 

As gingerly as possible, he lifted the scepter with only a small amount of difficulty due to forgetting how heavy the thing was. It released a steady thrum of magic in his grip, almost like the beating of a heart. Ravio smiled slightly at the feeling, though the strength of it unnerved him a little. 

The magic contained within the scepter had clearly been altered by Yuga after he had gotten his grubby hands on it. It made Ravio suddenly very grateful for the many boring yet effective lessons he had endured to learn how to better control his magic output. The last thing he wanted to do was to accidentally trap himself or someone else in a painting because the scepter had become too unruly for him to control. 

Quickly looking over the room to make sure everything was in place, the Lolian made as hasty of an exit as he could. He always had this fear when he was in that room that a skulltula or something would just drop down from a crack in the old ceiling out of nowhere and land in his hair. Or on his face. Or anywhere really. Finding one anywhere would not be very fun at all. His resulting shriek would likely make the castle workers think that the castle was under attack. That is, if they were not used to it from him already. 

Making sure to close the passageway again, Ravio crawled out from under the desk and narrowly avoided banging his head on it for the umpteenth time. After slipping the scepter into the bag with all his other magic rods that looked way too small to hold it, he folded his arms and tapped his foot on the stone floor as he surveyed his room one last time. Everything he needed seemed to be accounted for, though he could not shake the feeling that he was missing something. Eh, it was probably nothing. 

Deciding to turn in for the night, he went through his nightly routine before collapsing into bed. 

woke up early like he always did. It was a bit annoying, if he was being honest, but his brain shook off the haze of sleep too quickly for him to fall back asleep. It truly was the curse of being a morning person. 

He took his time getting ready for the day ahead, deciding to dress in normal clothes while he still could and wait to pull on the purple robe and hood until the last minute. Ravio had initially hated the thing—he still did not particularly like it—but it was rather comfortable. Worked great as branding too. 

Eventually he and Sheerow made their way down to a small informal dining room for breakfast. Ravio had been having his meals sent to his room instead lately, but there were still a few things to iron out with Hilda before he went on his way. Besides, it would be nice talking to her. After their conversation yesterday, he regained hope that they could rebuild their relationship even after everything that happened. 

Breakfast went by in a blur. He had barely registered that his plate of crepes filled with glazed strawberries and raspberries was empty until Hilda was shooing him out the door to grab his things and mull over everything they talked about. 

Ravio preferred to leave inconspicuously. While the people would have still been able to recognize him before due to his status as royal advisor, the chance of being recognized now had grown considerably with his role in restoring the Triforce being known due to the celebration that followed. Hilda accounted for this and suggested that Ravio ride in a merchant’s wagon to the graveyard instead of one of the royal carriages. It would still cut down on travel time, so for that he was grateful even if the wagons were not as cushy. 

He was to wear the same clothes he wore in Hyrule. While not entirely thrilled about wearing that hood again, he was very glad that he had made sure to wash it shortly after his return. It had not smelled the greatest after wearing it day in and day out for so long. 

After returning to his room and fishing through the various old clothing items he had hoarded in the back of his wardrobe, he finally found what he was looking for. With a grimace, the Lolian smoothed it out as best as he could and mentally prepared himself for being smothered in the thick fabric. 

With that his robe, the rest of his things packed, and his bags secured to his person, Ravio was ready. He spared one last look at his room before gesturing for Sheerow to follow him out the door. He locked it behind him. 

As Ravio made his way to the now accessible back entrance to the castle, he made sure to take in as much of the long halls and impressive architecture as he could. It felt a bit bittersweet. Maybe he would miss the place after all. 

After ignoring all of the odd looks shot his way for his choice of outfit, he made it to where he was to meet Hilda before leaving. It was a small storage room where shipments used to be received before a gaping pit decided to surround the castle and make it inaccessible. The Queen was waiting for him in front of the door that led outside. 

“I see that you are ready,” Hilda said. Though her voice sounded a bit cold, there was a sadness in her ruby red eyes that made Ravio’s own chest tighten. He nodded. 

Hilda held out a scroll for him to take. It was sealed with the emblem of the Lorulian royal family. “Please take this to The Princess—or Queen if she has now been crowned as such. I know I said this at breakfast, but please send a letter as soon as you are able once you get to the castle. If you do not, then I am afraid that I might just assume the worst.”

“Of course! You know that I would not do something to make you worry— at least, not on purpose.”

She gave her adviser an unimpressed look. “You have exploded yourself and that workshop of yours enough that you do so anyway,” Hilda replied, pointing an accusatory finger at his chest. 

“Right, well,” Ravio moved on right past her statement and finger, “the same goes for you, ya know. I don’t trust the other advisers. As soon as something even remotely suspicious occurs, you better send word. I’ll come running to scold and scream at them as soon as I can if anything happens. And make sure that no one goes into my room. Keep it locked. Wouldn’t want someone to stumble upon something that could blow up the castle. Or worse. Maybe I should have locked everything even remotely dangerous in a chest somewhere more secure. Just to be safe, you know.”

His childhood friend placed an icy hand on his shoulder to stop him in his ramblings. “Trust me, I will make sure nothing happens. The kingdom is not going to just suddenly collapse in your absence, Ravio.”

“Right. Yes, of course. I knew that.”

She gave him a look, clearly not believing him as he tried to flash her a smile in his panic. Clearing her throat and lightly brushing off invisible dust on the front of her dress, Hilda turned her gaze towards the door to her side. “Well, I suppose you better get going. The wagon has been waiting for you.”

Ravio nodded, the beginning of tears filling his eyes as he hesitantly reached for the doorknob. In a split decision, as unwise as those usually were, he launched himself at his friend. 

The hug caught Hilda off guard as she stood there unsure what to do. After a moment, she wrapped her own arms around the man who she considered her brother despite not being blood related. She was happy for him even if he would be gone for the next while. 

It took a little bit, but the wagon finally made it to the northern graveyard. With his hood now covering his face, Ravio gave the driver a tip and waved them off as they rode away. It was best to stay in the driver's good favor, after all. 

An early winter frost coated the ground. It was not cold enough for there to be much in the way of snow on the ground yet, but Ravio was still glad that his robe was as insulating as it was. Sheerow was secured in a small pocket in his robe much to her dismay, but the man wanted to make sure she was with him before they knew what was on the other side. She seemed to appreciate the warmth anyway. 

Carefully lifting the scepter out of his bag, an action that likely looked ridiculous with how long and unwieldy the thing was, he crept around slowly to find the fissure. He would not be letting some monster somewhere ambush him. Nope, not today. 

Ravio knew the general area where to look, so it was not too hard to find. For a giant glowing crack in the side of a mountain, it still somehow managed to be somewhat hidden with all the vines and foliage covering it. It certainly looked like the one he originally went through to get to Hyrule. He took one last look at Lorule before taking a deep breath and walking into the wall. 

Going through fissures, not to mention turning into a painting, was very disorienting. At first, it felt like he was being compacted into a tiny sliver of the usual space his body normally took up. Then, it felt a bit like running his entire body across a giant piece of parchment before a strange pressure and pulling sensation enveloped him. He was very relieved when he popped out on the other side. 

Lorule had gotten much brighter now that the Triforce was restored, but the light of this place was still a bit blinding. 

Ravio tried to get his bearings and found that he was in a much better kept graveyard than the one in Lorule. A small statue that looked almost new stood only a little ways away in front of where he emerged. He recognized the figure as the Hylian goddess Hylia. 

He had made it. He was in Hyrule. 

Taking a look around, he found that the fissure was on the side of the Sanctuary. Though, the statue was new. 

The sudden sound of snapping twigs drew his attention. What he saw made his heart begin to race. 

Something was coming out of the nearby forest. 

While he might not have enough time to run away, he could at least hide behind one of the gravestones. Maybe. Hopefully, whatever or whoever was coming towards the sanctuary was slow and had poor eyesight, because the Lolian may not even make past the graveyard otherwise. That is, if it even was hostile in the first place. Either way, being cautious never hurt anyone… or, at least, anyone that he knows of. In reflection, it might make sense that he never heard from anyone who got hurt from being cautious. Nonetheless, he ran. 

Or, more accurately, he tried to run. As Ravio stumbled back towards where he came from, he felt his foot catch on rock or root that littered the uneven ground. He fell backwards, wildly waving his arms around to regain balance to no avail. Squeezing his eyes shut as he now lay in the dirt that poked at his back uncomfortably, he waited for whatever was going to happen. 

What the man did not expect was the sound of a familiar voice laced with similar confusion to when the Lolian had initially broken into its owner’s house.

“Ravio?”

Chapter Text

Three days prior…

Link was exhausted.

It had been a few weeks since his latest adventure ended and he had taken that time to rest as much as possible. He began to feel restless after the first several days but, at that point, it had been manageable. Now with his injuries basically being as healed as they would likely ever be, he needed something more than the slow recovery process to keep himself distracted. 

Going back to his blacksmith apprenticeship was not an option. Apparently, he had "done enough for the people already" and "would probably be too busy doing hero work anyway."

Link really hoped not.

As the days passed, he found himself hating the silence of his house more and more. Before, he would have found it peaceful. Now, it just felt depressing. 

Gulley had stopped waking him up in the morning. Link never thought he would miss that kid’s squeaky voice, but he found that he somehow did. It had brought some kind of normalcy to the giant mess that had become his life. 

While he had accepted Princess Zelda’s offer to officially name him as the Hero of Legend, it was more so out of convenience than any desire to actually go through any more adventures. He still would go on one anyway if he needed to, of course—curse his tendency to self-sacrifice and inability to just sit back and watch—but he otherwise wanted very little to do with that.

At the same time, though, he was beginning to feel that itch again. In comparison, normal everyday life felt so…boring. He still longed for retirement regardless, as if that would happen now that Zelda could send monster reports to him directly. The guards would supposedly no longer stop him at the doors to the castle or question his sanity when asked for entrance in exchange, so that was something. It was certainly better than going in the other way. People also actually believed him now…somewhat, so that was nice. Link was still not sure if he made the right decision, though. 

The other thing he got out of it was a reward of his choice. Normally he would refuse, but The Princess was very adamant about it, and refusing a gift from royalty felt like it would be in bad taste—not that he was complaining about the gift itself or anything. Maybe Ravio did rub off on him a bit after all.

Forcing that thought away to stay with the rest of the ones locked within the recesses of his mind, Link had asked for an expansion on his house so that it had more than just the one room while also keeping the original design intact as much as possible. He was not willing to let go of the place, but getting his house turned into a shop against his will really emphasized just how small it was. It was a good compromise. 

Link had been shoved into one of the guest rooms at the castle per Zelda’s request while the hired carpenters worked. He would have camped outside instead, but he had the suspicion that he was kept there so that the royal physician could look him over. Besides, he did not mind Zelda too much. Well, that and he was too tired at that point to fight back. 

Luckily, the carpenters got the job done quickly, so he had been able to return to his own home soon enough. Could have been sooner though. 

At the moment, Link was just glad that he could sleep in his own bed again. It was definitely something he had missed after sleeping in the wilderness and on the rug in his house turned shop for so long. He felt some satisfaction knowing that the merchant responsible for that ‘little’ change also slept on the rug for the rest of his stay. Why he had refused to lower the bed to the floor after leaving it shoved vertically against the wall was anybody's guess. 

Link had decided to lay on the floor in his room now anyway as he slowly woke up fully, his legs propped up and bent at the knees so his calves rested flat on his bed. It was fine this time, though, because it was of his own volition. He imagined that he looked a bit like a cat with the way he had angled himself to be directly in the sun’s rays. It was not his fault that the warmth on his body and the hard even floor on his back felt nice. 

He had been putting off getting up for long enough, however. There was something he needed to do, even if only for the sake of his mental state, and it was time. 

Apparently, something happened at the sanctuary that sent the Priest there into a panic. 

Zelda had only told Link this once he was about to return home, deliberately timing it so he would have to wait until the next morning to go sort it out. As frustrating as it was in the moment, he understood why she did it. Part of him was even thankful because it meant he actually got some rest. The rest of him, though…. Suffice to say, there was a reason why he did not think twice about throwing himself into danger. 

A new fissure had opened up and Link had an idea why. 

He had no idea what had come over him. To be quite honest, he was a bit embarrassed about it despite being the only one who knew of his pleas—outside of the goddess they were aimed at, evidently. 

Normally, the only words he had for Hylia were curses, swears, and other forms of vulgar language that would probably make the goddess’s divine ears shrivel up and die like his faith in her goodness had after he came back from that little shipwreck of his at sea. After everything, Link was unsure how to feel about this being the request granted to him. 

Getting himself off the floor and to his new wardrobe, he threw on one of the red tunics he had found in a chest hidden away in the last dungeon before fighting Ganon two out of three times. As peculiar as it was that it had happened twice, he had learned to get used to strange coincidences at that point. 

It probably took longer than it should have to gather up everything he needed for his short trip. It was a bit of a new thing for him despite how familiar Link was with these kinds of trips. Before then, he had been either too naive or too cautious about strangers in his house to actually grab any of the items he had gotten from his previous adventures. At least he could actually make use of his rather large collection this time, not that this was the same as those others. As much as he would vehemently deny it to anyone who asked, maybe he was the tiniest bit of a hoarder. Regardless, it was fine and definitely not an issue. 

After a quick lunch, he practically sprinted out the door, almost forgetting to use the new lock installed on his front door. Link began to make his way to the bridge to the east. Even if it would be a little more of a walk, the path to the sanctuary going that direction was farther from civilization. There was less of a chance to encounter a patrol that way. 

It took a while to actually reach his destination, but it had been an uneventful journey save for a handful of unlucky blobs and octoroks. The early summer heat seemed to be attracting more to the river he had been following despite his efforts to clear the area not too long ago. 

Sure, the walk had taken two and a half days as opposed to a little less than two, but the fissure should not be dangerous or anything. Maybe he was slightly regretting his decision to take the long way and had become the smallest bit impatient, but he had arrived now. 

Silence outside of the occasional chirping of crickets and birds nestled in the swaying branches of nearby trees filled the air. If it were not for the graveyard, it would almost be peaceful. Dampé seemed to have already headed home or was yet to arrive. It meant that Link could go about his business without having to talk to anyone. For that, he was grateful. He also did not bother with talking to the priest or Seres at that moment, deciding to instead put it off until morning. That way he could look around undisrupted. 

The sun was beginning to set, gradually darkening the almost cloudless blue and spreading an orange glow across the western sky. It reminded Link of Lorule, so he quickly tore his gaze away before his thoughts could wander any farther. He was here for the fissure and nothing else. 

It did not take long to find. Right behind a statue that had definitely not been there the last time, there was a very clearly visible crack on the side of the sanctuary wall. The darkness spewing out of it seemed less dense, less threatening, than the ones before. Doubt about where its connection wormed into Link’s mind. 

Subconsciously, he had moved around to the side of the building right up next to the fissure’s edge, hand hovering over the wall beside it like he was about to use the bracelet as he had done countless times before over the last several months. He jerked back abruptly once he realized what he was doing. As much as he had tried to ignore the reality of the situation on his way there, it was not an option anymore. Hilda had used the last of the bracelet’s power to send him and Zelda back to Hyrule. Even with the fissure there in front of him, he couldn’t….

Anger bubbled up inside Link as he slammed his palm against the side of the sanctuary, not entirely caring if Seres, her father, or whoever else might be inside heard at that moment. Closing his hand into a fist tight enough to turn his knuckles white, he forced himself to walk away, determined to find something, some other way, before giving up hope. He knew better than to let this rage manifest into something destructive. He also would not complain if some straggling monsters happened to come across his path, however. At least taking it out on them would be productive. 

It would have to wait until morning, though, because it was getting too late to do much of anything besides set up camp. Deciding to distract himself by finding a spot in the small forest next to the sanctuary and graveyard, Link funneled his energy into lighting a fire by hand rather than using magic. He told himself it was because it was good practice, but even he had a hard time believing that. 

The next morning, Link slowly ate his rations and packed everything away. Was he procrastinating? Maybe. On second thought, almost certainly. 

Strange magical phenomena can only be avoided for so long, however, until the puzzle-solving part of his brain grows too impatient at all the self-imposed delays. It was time for him to search the area only to inevitably find nothing and there was no point in putting it off any longer. 

As he got into a better position to see the entirety of the fissure in the warm morning light, Link’s stomach dropped. His mind finally registered what exactly the statue was, or, more accurately, who it depicted. 

It was just like her to grant his wish to reopen a connection while also making it inaccessible to him, was it not? After everything, why did he think that he would get this without some tragic complication? It always seemed to happen, so why did he even bother getting his hopes up in the first place? First his uncle, then his uncle for a second time in some cruel twist of fate, then the entirety of Koholint and Marin, especially Marin, and then—

The biting pain of rings digging into his palms snapped Link out of his spiral. 

When Ravio had first revealed who he was, Link was not sure what to think. Initially, he was surprised and felt a bit betrayed, though that feeling promptly left him. He had wondered if he would meet his own counterpart, but he did not expect it to be Ravio. The thought had crossed his mind, of course, but the merchant just seemed so…different. He was talkative when Link was quiet, performative when Link was blunt, open about his emotions when Link would shove them down as deep as they could go, and so on. 

Despite all their differences, though, it turned out that they both ran.

He needed to do something, anything really, to get his mind off of everything. Like he always did. Maybe he was running from it. Maybe it would catch up with him eventually. Maybe it was the result of a bit of cowardice that lingered despite the mark on the back of his hand. Link just knew that he would not succumb without a fight.

He would fight like he always did, even if his opponent this time was his own mind.

And so, Link ignored the statue. He instead focused on searching the surrounding area, trying to determine if anything had entered or exited the fissure. If a part of him was hoping to find something else as well, he paid it no mind. At some point before he had woken up, Dampé had arrived, going about his work quietly enough that the traveler had not even noticed his presence. It was probably more likely that Link had been too far in his own head in all honesty, but it was better to convince himself otherwise for the time being lest he began thinking again. Seemingly grasping the other’s mood, the gravekeeper continued to keep his distance as best he could, something that was immensely appreciated. The other people who he meant to talk with were completely forgotten about as well.

Hours passed Link by without much of note until it was close enough to midday that he decided to take a small break. Unsurprisingly, he had found nothing but was too determined at that point to give up. Eventually, once it had become abundantly clear that there was in fact nothing to find in the first place, he would, but that would likely take a while. Still trying to keep himself busy, he decided to go about the small forest he had camped in the night before to gather any firewood he would need to stay another. 

It was in the middle of going about this task when there was a marked shift in the air, unnatural and unnerving to those unfamiliar with it. Link’s heart skipped a beat. He had somewhat of an ability to sense and locate sudden fluctuations in magical energies, at least more so than most. It was by no means exact nor capable of any substantial identification of a magic’s type, but it did prove useful several times. In this instance, there was an indistinct pulling sensation like when your eyes would naturally drift towards the focal point of a landscape or the gruesome horrors of a wound that would get burned into the back of your eyelids as you tried to finally get some rest for the night. Miniscule pulses from more than just ambient energies disrupted the hairs on his arms and legs in a way completely unrelated to the pleasant breeze that rustled the surrounding leaves. And it was coming from the direction of the fissure.

Link ran. 

As he emerged from the forest, he just barely saw a familiar hooded figure trip and fall on his back. It took his brain a moment to decipher what he just saw, but the identity of the other person was unmistakable. If anybody who happened to be nearby made a noise at the sudden appearance of another person, Link failed to notice it, his attention consumed in its entirety by the newcomer’s presence. 

“Ravio?” 

Craning his neck to see while still on his back recovering from having the wind knocked out of him, Ravio gave his Hyrulian counterpart a tired wave and barely visible smile before letting his head thump against the dirt again. “Hah, guess I’ve fallen for you, Mr. Hero,” he mumbled out of breath. 

Sheerow, who had flown out of his pocket as soon as he started to lose his balance, fluttered down next to his hood to watch him curiously. She might have pecked at its fabric a few times as well.

Link raised an amused eyebrow at the man and his bird, barely catching the other’s words. Out of everything he could have picked, that was the first thing he decided to say to him? The Hylian was thankful that the Lolian was staring at the sky instead of him and the no doubt goofy-looking smile slowly spreading across his lips. Trying to pull himself together and make his voice sound both disbelieving and casual, he replied, “Uh huh, sure…. You okay?”

“Yep, just doing some cloud gazing. Definitely didn’t just fall or anything. Nope. Wouldn’t be me.”

There were no clouds. 

“Right….”

A few seconds of silence passed. 

“You mind using your hero muscles and helping me up? Unless you just want to stand there while I lay in possibly haunted dirt,” the merchant said, raising one arm straight into the air without making any effort to get up himself. It made Link fondly roll his eyes in exasperation. 

“I thought you were ‘cloud gazing,’” he replied blandly as he walked over to pull the fallen man up. He tried to be as gentle as possible, but Ravio still wobbled a little once he got to his feet.

Brushing off the dirt that now stuck to the back of his robe and hood, Ravio gave the other’s response a dramatic gasp. “There’s a time and place for such things, and a graveyard is neither the place nor a time. I would expect you of all people to know that with all your trips to the graveyard and such.” 

Link decided not to question how or what the other knew about his visits to graveyards and instead raised an eyebrow at the Lolian–he seemed to be doing that a lot. He spared a glance towards the side of the sanctuary. “How did you even get here?”

“Why, the fissure, of course!” Ravio chirped before he received a look that said ‘you know that’s not what I meant.’ He hesitated before speaking again. “You know Yuga’s staff? The one covered in gold and had those gaudy crystals attached? Hard to miss that one, I’m sure you remember it. Well, I found it.”

“You…found it.”

“Yep.”

“And used it.”

“Correct again!”

“So, it’s not dangerous then?”

“Well, I never said that, but I wouldn’t have used it if it were.”

“Uh huh.” Link nodded to himself in thought, not sure if that was worrying over. Something was being left out, but he did not know whether he should try to pry or not. Before he could decide though, the merchant readjusted his hood and swiftly redirected the conversation.

“I’m all for continuing chatting and everything, but you wouldn’t happen to have anywhere else we can go nearby, would you? Graveyards give me the creeps, though I have to admit this one is much nicer than what I am used to. Can graveyards truly be nice? Guess it doesn't really matter. Anyway, that's not the point.” Ravio finished by just looking at him expectantly, the sewn eyes on his hood boring into him.

“Sure,” the Hylian said. He began walking back to where he left his firewood, the other following with Sheerow in toe. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dampé give the boys a smile that looked strangely fond, though Link had no idea what that was about. 

As they got settled in the campsite from the night before on a fallen log, Ravio insisting that he cook lunch for the two of them, they fell back into a familiar rhythm much easier than either expected. Perhaps it should have been given what they were, but neither acknowledged that. Soon enough, the friendly banter faded away, however, and the conversation turned to the reason behind their meeting. 

“I will say, it was quite the surprise seeing you here. Maybe it shouldn’t be all things considered. Anyway, have you just been waiting out here or something?”

Link sighed, remembering his…state of mind that felt so long ago now despite only being put to a stop a mere fifteen or so minutes prior in truth. 

“Something like that,” he said. “Princess Zelda asked me to check out the area a few days back after the fissure showed up.”

“Yeah, real weird how that happened. Hilda and I both thought that the connection disappeared entirely. I’m sure you did too. Then a new fissure just kinda, POOF, popped up out of nowhere! Not sure if you have any idea how, buddy—was kinda hoping that you would.” Ravio paused, waiting for a reply. 

Link tilted his head slightly and looked off toward where they came from as he thought about how to answer. He needed to find a response that would both not reveal that much and keep the Lolian from worrying about the fissure potentially being created as a part of a malicious scheme. Finally, he settled on one. “It was behind that new Hylia statue. Maybe it was her.”

Ravio cocked his head in a way that mirrored his counterpart. Whether it was intentional or simply another shared habit of theirs was unclear, but the soulless embroidered eyes that stared back made it very difficult to take the action seriously. It also made it nearly impossible to discern what was going on in the mind of the person behind them, much to Link’s annoyance. 

Using the rare moment of silence from the merchant, he decided to voice one of the things that had been bothering him, not that he would actually admit that it was. If bringing it up just so happened to move their conversation away from the current subject, then that was perfectly fine with him as well. Hopefully, it would not come off as too rude. “So…why are you here, exactly? I’m assuming you didn’t just come here on a whim.”

Ravio startled, seemingly being broken out of whatever had been going through his head. He swiftly readjusted himself enough so that his abrupt movements nearly passed as being nothing more than him getting more comfortable on the log he was sitting on. As expressive as the man's body language could be, there was also this measured control about it that rarely seemed to falter. It was at times like these where the Lolian was caught off guard that Link questioned how much of the Ravio he knew was this front he put up. He was not necessarily put off by the other’s walls, it would be hypocritical of him to be, but his instincts to help and poke his nose into things he had little business involving himself in were screaming at him and making it all very hard to ignore. 

“Oh, right! I forgot to tell you, didn’t I.” Ravio laughed at himself awkwardly, Sheerow mimicking the way he was rubbing the back of his neck on his shoulder. It was one of his nervous tics it seemed. “Hilda sent me to meet with your princess. You know, boring political stuff. I was supposed to go do that as soon as possible, but, uh, oops?”

Link’s next exhale came out as a snort due to how unapologetic the other sounded. That Ravio chose to talk with him instead, though—nope, he was not going to think about it. It was better not to. Otherwise, he might get his hopes up, get too close, too attached. He swallowed the small pricks of fear that rose up from inside his stomach in favor of tucking it away for an eventually that would never come and continuing with the conversation. “Can’t you just send a letter or something?”

“Yes, but…hmm. Give me a moment.” Ravio paused to pull out a small scroll kept closed with the Lorulian family seal. “I’d rather deliver this in person. Just in case. But, now that you mention it, there is the issue of getting an audience in the first place. I’m not exactly the most…er…non-conspicuously dressed person at the moment if you haven’t noticed. That might have been an oversight. Probably should have thought about that….”

“Yeah, the guards like to be a bit difficult,” the Hylian mumbled in response, purposefully leaving out that it might just be their attitude towards him. The Triforce might have reversed Aghanim's mind manipulation spell from his first adventure, but there appeared to still be some lingering effects. Namely hostility, even if they would not outright attack him anymore. 

Ravio looked up at him like he had gotten an idea. It was a look that could only mean trouble and the other was not sure if he would like where this was going. 

“You happen to talk with Princess Zelda often enough, though, right?” the merchant asked like he was trying to make the question sound as innocent as he could. 

“Yeah…? Why?” Link narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The other’s sudden change in attitude was…slightly concerning. 

Switching to the voice he used when trying to sell a product, Ravio clapped his hands together to pitch his idea with a salesman's smile likely hiding under his hood. “You can come with me! Only if you agree, of course. Not like I would drag you there–don’t think I physically could. You’re going to need to go that way anyway with where your house is, so it’s not like it’s that out of the way. Just a small detour. Is that okay with you?”

After a moment of hesitation, Link answered. “Fine.”

As much as he disliked having to go to the castle, having company on the way there sounded…nice. Maybe a little annoying as well, but he found that Ravio had become one of the few people who he could stand being near for extended periods of time—not that he had ever been home and conscious while Ravio was there for longer than a few hours. He was always alone when he traveled and the change was welcome for the most part. 

“Great! Thanks! Glad that’s settled. Well, it’s off to the castle for us then I guess.”

Chapter Text

After Link nearly forgot to stop inside the sanctuary to reassure the priest that the fissure was harmless and Seres was not in danger again, the two boys began their journey to Hyrule Castle. While Sheerow could somehow carry them both there, something Ravio refused to elaborate on no matter how persistent Link was, the merchant said that it would be too tiring for her and that she would need that energy to deliver a letter afterward. As a result, they had to go on foot and the Hylian was stuck with carrying some of the other’s stuff as payback for questioning Sheerow’s strength. The other phrased it in a much less direct manner, though, as if that was not exactly what it was. 

The western path they planned to take was the fastest route, only amounting to a little over a day and a half. Alone, it would not be preferable, but it was the better option now that he would be joined by someone less used to walking for days on end. 

With how close they would be to the castle and how populated that side of Hyrule was comparatively, Link made sure to keep a diligent eye out. Any patrols they came across were not likely to do anything to them, even less so with Ravio there, but it would only take one particularly brave move from an incredibly stupid individual with a sword for a fight to break out. And if anything were to happen to the merchant while he was traveling with him, especially right after going through the trouble of saving his kingdom—well, Link would rather not think about it. 

He walked a few paces further along the path than his traveling companion, taking the lead even if there was no need to act as a guide. He was trying to maintain some distance, not really for any conscious reason, but did try to slow his normally brisk walking speed so the other would not get left behind. He was admittedly a bit surprised at how well Ravio could keep up. 

There were a few times when he had to wait for him or double back when the man stopped to look bewildered at flora and fauna not found in Lorule, however, it was rare enough that traveling together was not nearly the hassle Link thought it might be. As much as the swordsman grumbled whenever it happened, he could not really fault Ravio for the delays. Given how bizarre he himself thought the plants and animals in Lorule were, it was no wonder that Hyrulian ones still seemed strange to his counterpart even after he had lived in Hyrule for over four months. Part of him possibly even found the other’s wonder to be almost endearing. 

They traveled in companionable silence that was broken up every so often by Ravio’s attempts at conversation which amounted to coming up with increasingly creative complaints to lighten the mood or just talking about whatever came to mind. It skirted the line of being personal in a way that was appreciated. Link responded in kind, of course, but kept his words brief, favoring scanning their surroundings for the millionth time over potentially forgetting how dangerous the road could be and getting caught off guard. Maybe it was an excuse to avoid thinking about the other person’s very real presence, as much as part of him was internally yelling at himself for doing so. He was not going to take the chance, though. Not when it involved someone else’s life. 

He tried to convince himself that the constant talking was getting annoying instead but struggled to make himself view Ravio that way. Sure, the guy had gotten on his nerves a few times—well, more than a few—and his shrill, performative voice could become grating after a while, but the Lolian was a genuinely good person despite how many rupees he could scam someone out of. Link would feel too guilty about ignoring that to actually let himself believe something that was not true. 

Some time into the first day of their journey following a long stretch where neither talked, the silence between them was once again broken. 

“You know, I’ve been trying not to ask—really I have! But, it’s been pretty hard to ignore with me having to stare at your back for hours and all,” Ravio began, causing Link to glance back, already unimpressed with where this was going. “Unless it's some kind of Hylian intimidation tactic that I’m not privy to, did you get fed up with those white tights of yours or something?”

Going along with it, he responded with as much sarcasm as he could muster. “Ah, yes of course. Monsters are just absolutely terrified of bare legs. My choice of clothing would never have anything to do with the weather.” 

“Well, it obviously couldn’t be that! It’s not even that hot out! Barely compares to Lorule’s summers—not that you would know because it’s winter there now. So, there clearly must have been some other reason,” his companion teased. He could clearly imagine the grin no doubt plastered on his face along with the mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Who knows, maybe I took inspiration from you.”

“Ha! No, as flattering as that sounds, I would really suggest that you not. Besides, I am actually wearing other clothes under this. Pretty sure they’re completely soaked through with sweat by now, though. In all seriousness, I tend to run a bit cold but even this is a bit much for me…”

Whatever else Ravio was saying got tuned out when Link noticed something in the distance that made his shoulders stiffen; A small patrol had just crested a hill a little ways down the road. 

Eyeing the figures steadily marching toward them, he clamped his jaw shut as he bit down his instinctual panic, unsure what to do. For a moment, he spared a glance back. His traveling companion had already cut himself off without being told, likely due to the other’s sudden shift, and was noticeably altering how he walked to look small yet resolute in his path and purpose. Keeping their eyes forward, the two subconsciously closed the distance between them as they continued forward in tense silence. 

When the patrol reached them, it was as if the very air stilled. The sudden chill contrasted with the warmth of early summer. Link forced himself to move regardless, suppressing the urge to either unsheathe his sword in preparation for the worst or sprint far away as fast as possible with his pegasus boots. 

They would not dare do anything, especially not with a witness. After all, they knew what would happen if they did. 

But now there was someone else who could get hurt. It was fine when he was by himself. Then, there was no one else to worry about or who could suffer the consequences of his actions should he fail to protect them. It was just him doing what he needed to so he survived and history would not repeat itself.

For a moment, his own racing heartbeat drowned out all other sounds as the hate-filled gazes of the knights passing by burned holes into him. Of course they recognized him. They always did. It was a bit difficult not to recognize someone with pink hair whose face had been on wanted posters all over the kingdom for nearly a year and who had been running around from one place to another until only a few weeks ago after all. Carrying around the most well-known sword in all of Hyrulian history certainly did not help either. Maybe he should be used to it by now. He was when he was alone. At least, he thought he was at this point.

When the two groups finally passed each other there was no sudden weight off his chest or calm to the mind which was flashing through stills from his first adventure, warped with age and assembled from mismatching parts.

Link only let himself breathe once the patrol was long gone. He shut his eyes to regather himself without bothering to break his stride, opening them enough to make sure he did not trip a few seconds later. Walking with his eyes still partially closed might not have been the best idea, but, the sooner this trip was over with, the better. 

Ravio, who he had almost forgotten was there, was the one to break the silence.

“Are you all right, Mr. Hero?” the Lolian asked in a casual tone that wavered a little too much for it not to be forced. When his question was met with no response, he tried again, likely thinking it had gone unheard, concern joining the previous casualness of his voice. 

“Link?”

The man in question peered to his side where the other was now walking next to him, fiddling with the sleeves of his robe. He did not bother questioning when Ravio got there, so he just made a small sound of acknowledgement. 

Glancing around, the merchant spoke again. “Do you mind if we stop to take a break? There’s a group of trees up ahead. Should give us cover.” 

Link had half the mind to ask who exactly the break was for but decided against it to stiffly nod instead, frowning at the delay. As he followed the other to a small cluster of trees not too far from the road, he kept his gaze fixed on the trees in front of him, absentmindedly twisting a ring on his index finger around repeatedly. In his peripheral, he noticed how the bounce previously in Ravio’s step was gone. 

They sat on the gnarled roots of opposite trees, one doing so much more carefully than the other who involuntarily winced at the loud crack his knees made in response to his sudden drop. 

Ravio kept one hand on his hood to pull it up enough where the bottom of his nose became visible, careful not to disturb where Sheerow was nesting in his scarf. His expression was indiscernible. Despite not being able to see his eyes, though, the other could tell that they were trained on him. Link stared back. It was his way of intimidating the hooded man into not bringing up what he was clearly planning to, something that generally worked on others, but apparently not him because his mouth opened anyway. 

“Thanks,” was all he said. 

The Hylian watched confused as the other gave him a small smile before looking off into the distance. That was it? It certainly was better than the overbearing spiel making sure he was okay and questions that were too personal that he expected, but it also felt…anticlimactic. Relief mixed with a twinge of annoyance and irritation at the reaction settled within him. Forcing himself to relax some against the tree bark at his back, he turned to where the fidgeting merchant was staring. There was nothing much of note in that direction, only more trees and brush that eventually led to vibrantly green grassy plains. With little else to do, he decided to just wait for the other to start talking again. 

Silence returned and remained between them. It took a moment for Link to realize that Ravio was waiting for him to speak instead. 

Wetting his chapped lips, he tried to figure out what to say. Ravio must have noticed his reaction, so what even could he? "Sorry for freaking out back there. It happens sometimes. No big deal?" That would not go over well. Neither would "Hey, thanks for not bringing it up and all, but shouldn’t you be acting more concerned?" Clearly, he needed to think of something else. 

Eventually making up his mind, Link opened and closed his mouth a few times before actually managing to get any words out. “I…I’d prefer to get a bit further before we stop for the night. So, whenever you’re ready….”

Ravio turned back and looked at him for a second too long. “Okay, we can go then. If you’re also ready, of course.”

With a nod, Link, perhaps a bit too quickly, made his way back to the road, Ravio following behind shortly after. The two of them continued on towards their destination like before, stopping as the sun began to dip below the horizon to set up camp and eat. 

The journey there had been noticeably quieter conversation-wise. What they did talk about conveniently brushed past what happened earlier as if it did not happen at all. Something was definitely on Ravio’s mind, however. While he seemed a bit distracted with his own thoughts, he also appeared to be more alert. Not that he was not before, because he was, but he came off as less skittish and more vigilant, almost wary, now. It obviously had to do with the patrol they ran into, that was the easy bit. The specific part of the incident that caused the change in behavior was what was giving Link trouble. He really hoped it was not because of him, but he could not shake the feeling that it was. 

They turned in for the night soon enough, but neither ended up sleeping very well. Regardless, the travelers pushed onward again early in the morning. The closer they got to their destination, the more apprehension about whether they might encounter another patrol weighed on Link. All the same, though, he found that he did not regret his decision to come with, as strange as that was. 

Ravio, making a small sound like he had suddenly remembered something, asked to stop for a moment a little ways into the long walk still ahead of them to dig through one of the bags he had handed off to his counterpart. The other waited for him, itching to get a move on as he kept an eye on their surroundings. Another noise made him turn his attention back. 

“Aha! I did bring it with!” The Lolian exclaimed with more enthusiasm than he had in the past day. He pulled out a navy bundle roughly enough to disrupt how it had been carefully folded. “Here!” 

Before Link could make out what it was, the thing came hurling at his face.

“Ack!” 

The lightweight yet sturdy fabric landed directly on his head, causing him to take a step back in a poor attempt to dodge what now smothered his face and completely obscured his vision. He tugged it off of himself with some difficulty, having to spit out some fuzz which the section of cloth that ended up in his open mouth left behind. 

The glare he sent at his attacker promptly went ignored. Ravio was apparently too busy trying to stifle his laughter. 

“Sorry, buddy. Guess I have better aim than I thought,” the merchant said, having enough self-awareness to at least try to sound somewhat remorseful, “Anyway, that’s my cloak! It doesn't cover enough for my purposes at the moment so I’ll let you use it. Free of charge, just this once. Probably would conceal your identity more than your current getup—if you want to wear it, that is…. It might help.” 

Link looked back down at the cloak in his hands in thought. For whatever reason, his throat suddenly felt tight. Then Ravio continued.

“Think of it as payment for coming with me.”

Link did not know what to think of the gesture. Part of him was irritated by how well he had been read, but he knew it was really just embarrassment. It made him feel too exposed, too vulnerable. He did not like it.  

Another part of him, one that was smaller and quieter, was grateful. It was what he wanted was it not? And somehow Ravio understood it, possibly more than he himself did. Even if it did not work, which he figured would be the case knowing his luck, at least the added fabric would be a slight comfort. It did make him bitterly wish that he brought his magic cape so he could just turn invisible, though he did not dwell on the thought. Doing so would only make him more bitter. 

The quietest part of him, the part that he kept buried deep inside in favor of survival, had the urge to curl up in a ball and cry for reasons that he denied to acknowledge or spend the time to understand. Regardless of if it was just an afterthought, the transactional nature of the interaction helped to keep the feeling at bay. That was all it was after all. Payment.

He would not break down. He couldn’t. Not now.  Maybe not ever. He refused to. The Hero’s spirit was supposed to be unbreakable after all. 

It was just a cloak. It was silly to get so worked up about something so small, so trivial. He knew that. So, why did he react that way? Why was it so difficult?

Swallowing down his emotions like he was used to doing at this point, Link let himself run his fingers against the weathered fabric in his hands for just a moment. He glanced at the one who gave it to him while carefully keeping his expression blank the best that he could. Rather than verbalize his thanks, he simply shook out the cloak and clasped it around his neck. Hopefully his acceptance of the garment in of itself would communicate his appreciation. 

The hood was big enough to cover his eyebrows and cast a shadow over his eyes. Although the lower part of his face would still be visible, it could possibly be enough. He let himself believe that it would. 

Despite the way that his expression was obstructed, Ravio’s smile was practically radiating through his hood when Link looked at him next. It made his own mouth quirk up a bit at the corners. The merchant then began walking again, taking the lead this time and lightheartedly calling for him to hurry up so they would be able to sleep under an actual roof that night. He did as he was asked, deliberately ignoring how the distance that he had previously been keeping between them had become smaller. 

They went on like that for a while. The air surrounding them was no longer as tense and its gentle breeze felt cooler, more pleasant, against his skin as it danced between the flowy fabric of the cloak. It was as if the two travelers had both let out a collective sigh after the swordsman accepted the merchant’s offer. 

Nearer now, the castle loomed overhead. 

Shortly after they began to follow the whitewashed stone walls that surrounded Hyrule’s Castle Town, an armored figure could be seen approaching them in the distance. Although it felt far too soon despite the fact of their location, it was undoubtedly another knight. They all shared this distinctive way of holding themselves that was emblematic of their rank. Some might call it confidence or composure, but Link simply knew it as pompousness. 

He pulled the navy hood of Ravio’s cloak as far down over his face as possible, not that it could go much further in the first place. By keeping his gaze low but still directed at a point ahead of him, he hoped that his identity would be obscured. The Master Sword was concealed too, which would help. After all, it was arguably the most recognizable thing about him. 

As the lone knight drew closer, Link held his breath like before, heart steadily picking up its pace in time with his steps, his hands clenching tight enough to make the rings on his fingers dig into his sweaty palms. Even though one did not happen the day prior, he was ready for a fight if need be. 

This time was different, however. Rather than being met with a glare that promised death at the tiniest misstep or the end of a blade intended to bring about that end, it was almost like he had gone back in time over six years ago to when he was treated like any other commoner. He might have thought that he had become completely invisible were it not for the unexpected nod he received as a small courtesy while passing by. Suddenly, he felt like he better understood why Ravio wore that hood of his.

At some point, the former roommates traded places for a second time. They had slowed down slightly, making Link want to activate his pegasus boots to get their task over with sooner. He rarely used them anymore because their speed enchantment did a number on his joints, but, when he was in enough of a hurry, he tended to use them anyway. He suppressed the urge and instead brought his attention to their surroundings. It would keep him from thinking about how close they were to their destination.

The gate to the towering city walls was in view, though there would still be some time until they got to the castle proper. Knowing that the cloak worked as he had hoped, the soldiers posted outside no longer seemed quite as intimidating, and the two managed to walk right by them. Only a little more than a glance was spared in their direction. Ravio even seemed to be the one their eyes lingered on this time, which made sense given his outfit. If he really wanted anonymity, he would have probably done better finding something that stood out less, but Link decided not to bother questioning it. Even if he did, it probably would remain unanswered anyway.

Although he generally avoided going there, every time he went to Castle Town, Link was filled with conflicting emotions: sorrow for what was lost, anger for what the people endured, dread for what the future may hold, but also hope for what could be. Because maybe, just maybe, they would get their much needed respite this time. 

The most notable part about Castle Town was that it was weirdly quiet for a kingdom’s capital. There was still quite a bit of hustle and bustle as people went about their day visiting shops and running errands. Unlike in Kakariko, however, it was rare to see a vendor shouting out to the streets hoping to snag the attention of a potential customer or hear the leisurely chatter of people catching up and exchanging polite conversation in their time off. Everyone seemed to be solely focused on their own task, trying to get it done as soon as possible so they could return to the relative safety of their homes. After all, its citizens had seen the effects of two world-threatening events already in the span of a little over six years and they would not forget them so easily. Instead, it was as if they were holding their breath for a third.

The travelers made their way through the fairly sparse crowd with only a little trouble. Were they not so tired from their journey, it probably would have taken much longer with all the shiny bits and baubles in the eye-catching displays of shops along the way that normally would have demanded their attention. The fact that the swordsman was currently a bit light in the wallet because of a certain purple-wearing merchant also went a long in dissuading his interest.

They were close, nearly at the castle’s entrance where two guards stood on either side, spears in their hands. It made Link’s own hands itch to remove the cloak draped over him despite the cover it provided to get it over with. When the cloak’s owner quietly cleared his throat behind him, however, he stopped and turned so they were facing each other. 

“Uh, before we go any further,” the hooded man began, hesitating for a moment and gazing off to the side. “You know you don’t have to go in with me, right? Not because I don’t want you there or something, but…just don’t feel obligated, okay? Please? I can tell The Princess about the fissure and everything, so you can go right on home if you want.” 

“I’m coming with,” Link said. The finality he tried to put in his voice was softened, making his words sound gentler than intended. 

His counterpart was quiet when he next spoke. “Oh. All right then.” 

Although he would not be able to truly say if it were true, it felt like they made eye contact for a heartbeat even with the way both their hoods obscured their eyes. Then, Ravio started walking past him. In a split-second decision, he held out an arm to stop him.

“Here.” 

Unclasping the cloak around his neck, he handed it back. Maybe he was hoping that the gesture would communicate that there was no need to worry about him feeling obligated to help. Maybe it was an attempt at reassurance or a way to give something without it having the emotional weight that giving something else would. He did not know. He was not sure he wanted to know. Either way, his stomach dropped and heart nearly stopped when the other froze and just stared at it wordlessly before slowly shaking his head. 

“Keep it,” the merchant replied after a moment. There was an unsure pause. “…It’s quite rude to return a gift, after all.” 

Link could practically hear the smile creeping across Ravio’s face in his awkward attempt at a joke. It worked well enough to defuse the tension between them though, admittedly, and he found that his shoulders sagged some in relief. Against his will, the start of a small smile of his own met the corners of his mouth. 

Instead of putting it back on, he put Ravio’s—no, his cloak with the rest of his traveling gear. He would need to reveal his identity to the guards anyway, so he might as well make it easier on himself. 

This time, he did not stop Ravio when he went to move toward the castle guards. Instead, he followed.

Chapter Text

Ravio was unsure what to think. About what? Well, there were several answers to that question all bouncing around in his head like an over-excited rabbit hopped up on the sugar from too many carrots. If he were to narrow it down to one thing though, the simplest answer would probably be Link. 

First was their conversation about the fissure. The comment about Hylia being its creator was, well to say the least, odd. Given that the other did not strike him as a particularly religious person and that any actual references he made only ever involved the Golden Three, it stuck out. Something was definitely being omitted. Still, it was easy enough to ignore the strangeness even without being given an explanation. Ravio had purposefully left out certain details himself in the very same conversation after all. It was not lying, not really, but they both had their fair share of secrets and he refused to pry. He just wished he knew whether Link’s conclusion was based on more solid evidence than the fissure opening behind a new Hylia statue.

After that was the soldiers’ attitudes towards the hero. Although he was not the target of their gaze himself, even being in the proximity had made his blood run cold. He understood Link’s reaction. Well, maybe not completely. There was definitely some context he was missing, but the soldiers’ demeanor spoke for itself. Either way, he wanted to help. Somehow. After all, he was much better suited for helping in social and emotional situations than perilous physical ones where he was at risk of getting stabbed. 

Though, on second thought, social and emotional situations could both lead to him getting stabbed as well….

Anyway, that was beside the point. 

In the end, he tried to help by giving Link his cloak, and it worked as intended. Regardless of whether the gesture even managed to make the tiniest dent in the insurmountable debt he owed to the hero, it was progress at the very least. Even if he knew it was futile, which he did, he still vowed to do what he could to pay it back in full. It was nice to see that his gift had successfully helped.

Then the guy attempted to return it. 

Although it hurt in the moment, he took no offense to it now, especially with how relieved the other looked when he was told to keep it. Maybe it was just part of the whole selfless hero thing Link had going on, but there certainly seemed to be more to it than that. Thinking about it, the Hylian did have a strange reaction receiving it. For how closed off he otherwise was, he had appeared to flash through several emotions in the matter of a few seconds at the time. It made it difficult to tell what exactly the guy was feeling then. As much as Ravio wanted to analyze and dissect the other’s reaction as he might with one of his projects, he resisted the urge. He just knew that seeing it had activated the same instinct in him that had led to him caring for the injured, starved bird that he later named Sheerow. 

And now they stood in front of the castle’s entrance attempting to gain entrance. After this, they would no doubt go their separate ways. Unsurprisingly, he worried anyway, wanting to do something more. He did not like being unable to pay his debts. But, Link was far from a helpless bird left in the snow to die. He was fully capable by himself, even more so than the Lolian was in several aspects. Any attempts to help probably would not be welcome anyway, so going their separate ways might even help more than sticking around unwanted would. Maybe. Besides, he could not cling forever.

With no reason to prolong their inevitable parting, he faced the soldier who stood in the way of the castle’s entrance. 

The guard's mouth twitched when they looked at him. “State your business.” 

Ravio gave the guard his best customer service smile knowing that it would show in his body language even if it was hidden under his hood. He could not help but notice how the guard aimed the command at him but instead kept their eyes trained on Link. 

He was caught a little off guard when his traveling companion moved to stand slightly in front of him. His surprise was not at how the soldier had been deemed enough of a potential threat, but at how the other assumed a stance so subtly protective that it was barely noticeable. Maybe he should not have been surprised. The guy was Mr. Hero and all. 

Link was the one to speak, his voice sharp and low. “We need to talk with Princess Zelda.” 

“And for what purpose, exactly? The Princess is quite busy and can not receive just anybody who comes by claiming to have important matters to discuss.”

Clearly, the guard was being more difficult than needed despite his companion’s status. Given what he had been told, they should be expecting Link, who they obviously recognized based on their reaction. Even before, the soldiers seemed hostile towards the guy for a reason that was most definitely not his business, but even this was a bit much.

So, Ravio thusly decided to step in and politely provide a friendly reminder. “I’m afraid that they are matters of most importance for Her Highness’s ears only, good sir. We simply ask for an audience at her earliest convenience. But, I don’t imagine The Princess would be all too happy to hear that Hyrule’s fearless hero was left waiting, as I’m sure you can understand.”

Several tense seconds passed between them at his words, the other two appearing to be silently trying to intimidate each other into giving up. Link unsurprisingly won the little staring contest they had going on and the guard relented. As the two passed, he saw the hero give the guard one final death glare that could stop a rampaging hinox in its tracks. Not really, of course, but it would be quite useful if it actually could. 

When they were left in the gallery as another guard went to announce their presence, Ravio directed his attention to a series of five large paintings that proudly displayed some Hyrulian historical event. 

His eyes were drawn to one painting in particular. The one in the middle had what looked like an approximated version of the person next to him holding the master sword skyward facing Princess Zelda and surrounded by seven robed sages. There certainly was some resemblance, as if the artist who made it had based The Hero’s appearance solely on a vague verbal description. In other words, there were enough differences to question if it really was meant to be him. 

Out of curiosity, he asked, “Say, that wouldn’t be you in that painting, would it, Mr. Hero?”

Link laughed bitterly as he adjusted his posture, seemingly uncomfortable. His discomfort appeared to be aimed at the painting’s existence more than the question, though. “Supposed to be. I’m not sure when it was commissioned, but it was a surprise to just see it hanging there one day.” 

That…left him with some questions. While he had heard the other make nonspecific references to past adventuring experiences, nothing was ever really described. Ravio also never asked because he did value privacy…even if he did sort of take over the Hylian’s house.

Were the events depicted true? If so, shouldn’t the hero be highly respected? How then did the soldiers’ attitudes fit into the equation? Also, exactly how much had the other gone through? He was struck with a pang of guilt at the thought of dragging him into even more. It was made even worse with the wave of relief that accompanied knowing that, with how many times Sheerow brought back the adventurer passed out and on the brink of death, it was fortunate that he had found someone so experienced to help.

He tried to change the subject to something more comfortable and less serious. 

“Think they’ll immortalize the more recent events too? Not sure how well they would capture my likeness, but they seem to have captured your chiseled jaw and vibrant orange hair perfectly,” Ravio said with dramatic flare.

“Yeah, right. I don’t think any twelve-year-old could look like that,” Link said nonchalantly with a scoff. A moment later, the guy froze, likely realizing what he let slip.

While his own mind felt like it was stuttering at the new information and its implications, Ravio simply pretended not to have heard and opened his mouth to change the subject completely this time. Before he could actually say anything, however, the two were told that Princess Zelda would see them now. He instead settled for feigning confidence and gesturing for Link to follow him. 

They were led to the throne room by an elderly woman. Though he was not sure what to expect, he certainly was not disappointed when the three of them finally entered through the large archway. The Hyrule Castle throne room was grand with its large windows and tall columns that contrasted Lorule Castle’s preference for narrower, pointed arches. Red and gold carpet led up to a single throne, giving the place a much warmer atmosphere overall. There were several guards stationed inside.

Walking to the throne felt a bit surreal. While the differing architecture of Hyrule and Lorule kept it from being too disorientating, it was still incredibly odd to see someone with his queen’s face sitting on a different throne, watching them enter with a decidedly un-Hilda-like expression. 

“Ah, Link! I see you’re back earlier than expected. It is also a pleasant surprise to see you again, Ravio, and in his company no less.”

“Your Highness. I am honored to hear that you remember me.” Ravio bowed respectfully, Link shortly following after. 

After motioning for both of them to rise, The Princess continued, “Oh, but of course. I would be ashamed of myself if I forgot after everything. Nonetheless, before we speak any further, I assume that you both are exhausted from your travels. Let’s move somewhere more comfortable then, shall we?” 

She led them to a thankfully nearby parlor decorated primarily in blues and yellows, the elderly woman from before following behind. Though she seemed friendly with Link, Ravio was still a bit wary of her. He was relieved when the door closed, leaving the four of them alone.

“You two, please sit. This is my personal attendant, Lady Impa. She is perhaps the person I trust most, so I assure you that you can also trust her with anything you wish to discuss here.”

They did as the princess told them, both settling in on a low backed couch facing the elegant armchair she now sat in. Cautiously, the sole Lolian in the room removed his hood, taking her word for Impa’s trustworthiness. The whole reason for maintaining his disguise even after he had revealed his identity to Link was to avoid unwanted attention, especially if people came to the wrong conclusion about why he looked so much like the hero. With Princess Zelda there, however, there was no reason to believe that anything bad would come from showing his face as they talked. Besides, she was chosen to be the bearer of the Hyrulian Triforce of Wisdom, so she should have good judgement. The curious eyes now on him unpleasantly reminded him a bit too much of the other time he had removed his hood,

Luckily, The Princess began talking once again before he could think about it too long. “I’m glad that we are now able to meet in less…dire circumstances. Just know that there is no need for formalities at the moment. We are alone, after all, and Hyrule is in your debt for how you helped her hero.”

Taken aback by her words, his hands stilled in his lap. He quickly regained his composure, or at least as much composure as he could while wearing a purple robe with a rabbit hood attached, and politely tried to communicate his disagreement. “Respectfully, while I appreciate the sentiment, I did very little, really. In truth, Link was the one to do all the work.”

“Even so, Link told me a little about you after we returned and your role is undeniable," Princess Zelda said, "Regardless, I have the feeling that this is not what you came all this way to discuss. If it is not urgent, however, I hope to inquire about the fissure that newly appeared first if you don’t mind. You arrived here through it, correct?”

“I did, yes,” he said. 

Then Link chimed in for the first time. “I searched the area and I don’t think its appearance is something that’s worth worrying too much over. Nothing seemed to have gone through outside of him.”

There was a contemplative pause before The Princess spoke again. “Nothing on my end has indicated that anything is wrong like would be expected either. As strange as the circumstances are, I therefore think that I have to agree. Though, I did already assign some guards to watch the area just in case. In fact, I believe that they should have arrived sometime today.” She locked eyes with the hero who just opened his mouth to speak. “And yes Link, I will make sure to send word if anything happens, but I am not going to if someone else can handle it this time. You deserve the rest.”

Link seemed like he wanted to argue but settled for grumbling something unintelligible under his breath instead when Princess Zelda gave him a look. 

Turning back to Ravio with a warm smile like nothing happened, she picked up where she left off. “So, with that out of the way, what was it you wanted to discuss?”

As briefly as he could, Ravio explained the reason why Queen Hilda sent him before handing over the scroll. His eyes drifted around the room as he waited for The Princess to finish reading.

Finally, she set the scroll down on the small table next to her.

“Hmm…yes, I believe this arrangement would be beneficial to both our kingdoms. It is a bit late to discuss the finer details, however, so that can wait until tomorrow. I can write a quick letter now as requested, though. Impa, would you mind finding something I can write with?”

It only took a few minutes for the letter to be written and handed off to Ravio. He took that time to add it to a smaller one that he had written the other night when he could not sleep, putting both in his pocket for the currently napping Sheerow once she next had access to the open skies. 

“Although I am sure Link will want to return home, you are welcome to stay in the castle for however long you wish to stay here in Hyrule, Ravio. In fact, there should already be a guest room ready for you,” Princess Zelda said. She then turned toward Link, a slightly unsettling expression on her face that he could only describe as being a cross between amused, teasing, and knowing. What exactly it was that she knew was…questionable. Regardless, she continued, “Unless, of course, you have already made other arrangements to stay somewhere you would be more comfortable.”

Ravio followed the princess’s gaze, freezing for a moment as he fully registered what was just said. She did not mean what he thought she did, did she? He really did not want to intrude on the other’s space again and highly doubted the guy even wanted him in his house again. After dragging him to Hyrule Castle, he doubted even more that Link would want him around period. 

 He stuttered out a reply. “I—we didn’t—the first time I—I don’t think—“

To his surprise, Link interrupted him, slightly rushing his words as if trying to get them out before he could think any harder about them. “There’s enough room at my place.”

Was that meant to be an invitation? 

Princess Zelda smiled warmly at the hero’s not-quite-an-offer and looked back at Ravio who just nodded at her silent question. Normally, he might have made a teasing comment to the Hylian about his word choice, but, even if The Princess was not there, he doubted that he would have found the words. Though, he guessed that he would have time to do that later at home. That was a weird thought. 

It would be nice to have somewhere to go to, someplace homey and more relaxed than the put-together formality required of living in a castle. Still, he reminded himself that it was only a temporary arrangement. Once everything between the two kingdoms was in order he would go back. He refused to intrude more than he already had.

Their conversation was already moving on, though. He could think about it later.

After that, the rest of their meeting went by in a blur.

“So, quick question about how the whole me living with you thing is going to work. You know, now that the world isn’t in active danger and everything,” Ravio started. 

They had just left Castle Town—the one in Hyrule, not the Lorulian one that had fallen into an endless pit centuries ago; their shared name made it all very confusing—and were heading towards Link’s house. Or, Ravio supposed, it was his house now too in a way, though he would not dare call it that to the property owner’s face. Renaming the place to Ravio’s shop once was probably a bit much as it was. 

Now that they were moving again despite the way his legs complained every step, he actually had time to think about his decision. It also helped that he could actually hear his own thoughts once more. Castle Town was quite a bit louder than the towns he was used to. 

“Okay…. What’s up?” the Hylian walking ahead of him asked, turning towards him briefly before returning his gaze to where they were going. He looked less annoyed than he usually did, which was quite the feat considering that his neural expression appeared to be one of either mild irritation or intense boredom. 

Redirecting his focus to the task at hand, Ravio asked his not-so-quick question. 

“When do you expect rent? Because you sort of just invited me…kind of. It was very indirect. We didn’t even talk over any details. I mean, I guess we didn’t really last time either, but still. Normally I’d want to know what I’m getting myself into before signing, you know? That’s just good business. But we don’t exactly have a contract drawn up. Not yet anyway. So how’s that going to work?” He paused to let Link actually have an opening to speak and mentally prepared himself for the worst-case scenario.

Several seconds passed. 

“And that was supposed to be a quick question?”

The Lolian was caught a little off guard by the other’s sarcastic yet light tone but quickly went along with the obvious stalling tactic. 

“Well, quick for you to answer. Maybe. ...If you happen to already have an answer, that is.”

The silence following his reply was long enough to clearly indicate that the other did not in fact already have an answer or think too hard, if at all, about the logistics. To be fair, neither had he before agreeing. It had been a long couple of days and they were definitely both feeling the effects. 

Eventually, Link spoke again. “We can figure it out tomorrow.”

Yep, he definitely did not think his offer through. Maybe he would not even have to pay what he promised to before and just never did—there was never really the time to with how quickly the adventurer would leave anytime he stopped by, after all. The idea of not paying him back in some way did not settle with Ravio well, though. Hyrule’s hero already had done so much for him. And now here the guy was giving him housing. Again. 

How do you even repay someone who not only saved your world from ending but also took over the job you were too cowardly to step up and do yourself in the process? Sure, he doubted he would have been physically able to do what Link did. Despite that, he could not help but feel like he could have—no, should have—done more. 

Still, it turned out well in the end. That had to count for something, right? Certainly did not help with his guilt, though. Was it reasonable? No. Did that ever stop him from feeling guilty before? Also no. 

As much as he wished that he could stop being held back by everything that could go wrong, he was afraid of dying. Like, a lot. Granted, most people probably were, but that knowledge did not make it any easier to put himself directly into the path of danger. It was easier to work in the shadows, providing support a safe distance away. The pain that came with death was unpleasant to think about by itself, sure, but, if that were all it meant, he could face it. No, it was the inability to do everything else he still desperately wanted to do that truly terrified him.

As he continued to walk a little ways behind the man, he wondered how Link dealt with it. Surely he had things he wanted to do. He had to have plans for the future that he was pushing towards, right? He had to. 

Right?

Ravio had not noticed how close they had gotten to Link’s house until the voice of its owner brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Oh, I should warn you before we get there, my house has changed some.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, got it expanded some.” 

Huh. He guessed that explained the statement that there would be room for him. It calmed some of his worries. “Well, that’s good. It was quite snug last time, I have to say. Barely had enough room for my shop!” 

If he had enough time with his new duties and everything, maybe he could even set up—

“ No .” 

“What? I didn’t say anything! Clearly, you must be hearing things, Mr. Hero,” he said, the picture of innocence. For some reason, the hero did not buy it. 

“I can practically hear what you’re thinking. So, no. No, you can not turn my living room into your shop again.” 

Ravio pouted at the spoilsport for show. It was not like the other could see it, but he was sure the effect was the same. 

His focus soon drifted to the place he would be staying, curious about what changed. The house was definitely taller and had at least one addition on the left-hand side. Other than that, the original structure was clearly there, the roof for the second floor being new but in the same style as before. There still appeared to be an apple orchard in the back, though it was mostly obscured both by the house and the encroaching darkness of night. 

The closer they got, the faster the Hylian leading became until Ravio nearly had to sprint to keep up. It was funny seeing the other so excited. Despite his struggle, it kept him from asking the other to slow down. His burning muscles and panting when they finally arrived made him lean against the wall for support and to catch his breath. Still, he could not help but think it was worth it even while waving away the concerned glace shot his way.

It took a few tries for his friend to actually get the lock, but he did eventually and held the door open, letting Ravio go inside first. He stood off to the side of the doorway unsure what to do with himself. Once the door was closed, Link dropped his bag onto a small table next to the door with a loud thud, having to double back to lock the door after forgetting the first time. The noise made the Lolian wince. How none of the items inside were broken if that was how they were treated was a wonder. 

With the room now illuminated by a lantern and portable candle, he could see newly built steps leading to a hallway on the second floor. What looked like a separate kitchen area was through an archway to the left, though he could not make out much detail due to the darkness. 

“It certainly is different from what I remember.”

Although Ravio’s comment was to himself, the other flatly replied anyway. “Yeah…wonder why.” 

Link was rewarded with a light smack on the arm for the snark, returning only a tired smirk in response and leaving the still air heavy with exhaustion. 

“You’ll have to stay down here for tonight.” The homeowner gestured vaguely at a wooden bench in the middle of the living room covered with a cushion and an old blanket. “You can sleep on the couch—or rug, I guess, if you really want. I don’t care.... Oh, and they added a bathroom over there if you need it. Just…don’t go snooping around.”

“Don’t worry. I doubt I’ll have the energy.”

“Right…well, I’m going to bed,” the hero said before grabbing his bag and the candle only to unceremoniously ascend the stairs, presumably to his room. 

Ravio just stood there, alone to his own devices in a house that was not his but still familiar. He debated whether to shout ‘goodnight’ up after Link, but the toll of the last couple of days' travel finally caught up to him in full. As great as collapsing onto the cushioned bench—because that was a better description no matter what Link had called it—sounded, he made his way to the bathroom to clean up a bit instead. He would not be able to get back up once he sat down otherwise. It was after he closed the door behind him that he noticed that his hood was still on. 

“Guess I don’t need this anymore,” he mumbled. He carefully undid his scarf and belt before pulling off his robe and hood. 

In the house’s quiet, the fact of where he was barely registered outside of the sense of true safety that draped over him like a fuzzy blanket. It was not something he had felt since…he did not know when. He decided to hang on to its warmth as best he could, at least for now. Maybe it was just because his time on the road was over, but he doubted that was it. It was not like he had the energy to bother questioning it further anyway.

Once he got himself clean enough to not feel like he was going to get dirt and sweat all over Link’s furniture, Ravio let tiredness take his thoughts and made his way to the bench in his undertunic. Almost instantly, he fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Link awoke to the delicious smell of something cooking. With his eyes still shut tight, he groaned and buried himself deeper into his blanket and pillow to block the sunlight streaming in. He managed to identify cinnamon, apples, and possibly eggs, though his thoughts were slurred and slow. Passively, he was still somewhat aware that his dulled senses were a lingering side effect of something. His mind was too sluggish to bother remembering, however, so he could not bring himself to feel annoyed with it like he always seemed to be for some reason. 

In his sleep-induced daze, he figured that it must be Marin cooking breakfast. He must have fallen asleep at her house again. 

Phantom wisps of sunset hair dance through his consciousness,

slipping away without a voice.

She always made breakfast for him when he stayed there. Her father always ate before them but still waited for him to be up to say goodbye. It felt like home, like having a family again. 

From beyond the idyllic sands, the depths of violent waves

crash against the edges of his memory.

It was nice to know someone was still there even after everything. Maybe he could stay–settle down even. Maybe….

Dread and frigid rain. A flash of blinding white.

There the silence sang to him . 

He should probably wake up before… .

‘…What? Illusion?’

Link jolted up like he had awoken from a nightmare, heart pounding in his chest and fresh sweat clinging to his skin. His breaths were shallow. 

He closed his eyes again, tight, but they snapped open at the treacherous thought of going back to sleep. With trembling hands, he gripped at the blanket he had thrown off of himself, paying special attention to how the fabric felt under his fingertips and the comparative coolness of its fibers exposed to the surrounding air. It was not an illusion. It was real. 

The lingering haze of sleep was more pronounced when he slept somewhere he felt safe. Ever since he had woken the Wind Fish nearly a year and a half ago, he almost always had a harder time waking up. Because, of course it would have a side effect. Why would he think otherwise? 

Over time, it had thankfully gotten better even if progress was slow. This time, however…suffice to say, it hadn’t been that bad in a while. He was awake now, though, for the most part. Side effects or not, he was not a morning person. 

Gradually, Link moved to sit on the edge of the bed, staring off into the direction of the window whose light was warming his room. His chest hurt. It was a pain he was all too familiar with, but not in the way that he was with cuts and bruises. He would take an arrow to the shoulder over the latter type any day. Instead, he focused on the physical world around him and shoved the dream aside. To his surprise, the mouthwatering smell from before was not just his imagination. So, using his curiosity as motivation, he forced himself to get up.

After cleaning himself up in an effort to wake himself up more and nearly tripping down the stairs due to the thrice-damned stiffness in his joints, he managed to make it down unscathed. Strangely, there was quiet humming coming from the kitchen. 

The unexpected noise made Link's mind stall for a moment. Then he remembered that he invited Ravio to stay at his place, though even that only slightly lessened his surprise. Part of him had honestly expected to wake up in an empty house. But, this was Ravio he was talking about. Of course he would still be there. 

The sound of him going down the stairs must have alerted the Lolian to his presence because his in a way new housemate was already partially angled toward the kitchen’s entryway, keeping an eye on it. It suddenly struck Link that he could actually see the other’s eyes now. 

“Oh, hey!” Ravio said, continuing to stir a pot suspended over the hearth, “Figured I’d make myself useful and cook something. You didn’t have much so I just kind of used what you had lying around. Anyway.” The merchant paused to fully turn towards him. “You all right, buddy?”

“Yep. Just fine.” Though his words were clipped, he hoped that the other just took them at face value. 

There was what looked to be some kind of egg porridge in the pot being stirred, next to which was another pot with simmering apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon and a kettle. The cinnamon had been a gift from Holodrum, though Link had no idea what he was going to use it for. At least it was not going to go to waste now. 

“Okay then….” Ravio spun back around to the food to present it like it was one of his wares. “Well, there’s food! It’s just about done too. I’ll divide it up and take care of everything after myself, so I guess you’ll just have to sit and wait.”

He hesitated before eventually deciding to actually do as he was told for once. It was not often that he chose to sit idly by while someone else did something for him. It was probably just the morning grogginess. 

Knowing that he would either get too antsy just sitting at the table or end up thinking too much, Link also grabbed a cleaning cloth and began working away at his rings. Cleaning them was basically the only time he took them off outside of when he bathed. It was better to be prepared after all. With his luck, the one time he was without them would probably be the one time he actually needed them. 

Despite his efforts, he was too distracted by how weird having someone else there in the kitchen cooking breakfast for him was. Sure, Ravio had given him food last time too, but it was always passed off as leftovers or excess from making too much. Whether that was true or not, it had always made it easier to ignore the gesture. Now, it brought back certain memories that he would prefer to not be reminded of. It was too similar, too familiar. As a result, he ended up going over the same spot over and over again more rigorously than he normally might. His work–not that he actually managed to do much–was interrupted when a bowl and steaming mug of tea were set in front of him on the table. 

“Careful, Mr. Hero,” the other warned, “You might end up rubbing out those enchantments of yours if you keep cleaning them like that!” 

The swordsman stilled his hands to look up and study the other’s questionably sincere expression. He nearly had found himself believing the apparent seriousness when the corners of Ravio’s mouth began to twitch upward. At that point, Link slipped back on his ring. Outside of rolling his eyes in played-up exasperation at the teasing comment, he decided not to acknowledge it.

Instead, he gestured to the unfamiliar food in his bowl that Ravio had topped with apple slices. “What is this anyway?”

“Surely you must know what apples are,” Ravio said with feigned concern. When Link gave him an unimpressed look, already poking at the strange porridge underneath with his spoon in curiosity, he switched back to his normal voice. “Well, it's something people make sometimes in Lorule called frumenty. You just happened to have the stuff for it! Hopefully it turned out fine. It’s…been a while.” 

Taking a small bite, the Hylian thought for a moment. “It’s definitely different. …Um, thanks for making it. You didn’t have to.”

In truth, it was good, if not a little bland despite the cinnamon. Still was probably better than anything he would have made for himself. 

“Eh, don’t mention it. It was the least I could do seeing as you’re the one giving me housing. So, thanks! I really appreciate it!” the merchant chirped.

Link shrugged. 

After a moment where they both just ate their food, the Lolian started talking again. “Oh, and on the topic of me staying here…. I was going to ask you about coming up with a contract of sorts just to have some kind of a written agreement. You know, since you won’t be off doing hero business this time. Probably.”

“Okay….”

“It doesn’t have to be now. Or today, really. Just something to think about. And, hey, you’ll have plenty of time to with me having to return to the castle today and everything!”

“I’ll think about it,” he said after nodding. Ravio smiled at him before returning to his food.

They continued to eat in mostly comfortable silence for a while afterward, the only sounds being the scraping of wooden spoons against clay bowls, the sipping of tea, and the distant chirping of birds outside. It was peaceful in a way that Link did not particularly expect, almost normal despite the reminders. That did not mean that having another person in his house at the same time as him did not still feel incredibly awkward, because it did at least on his part. 

When the other was there before, Link’s focus was always on getting back out there as soon as physically possible. Any downtime he did have was always more out of necessity than any actual leisure time. He was always on the move, always pushing himself to continue. But, he did not have to do that now, did he? It felt wrong in a way, just like every other period of time following an adventure did. It was a strange state of limbo where he would once again need to figure out what to do with his life until the next world-threatening event reared its ugly head, whenever that would be. Who knew; maybe it would just be a mild inconvenience next time. At that point in his life of adventuring, he did not dare to get his hopes up. 

His Lorulean counterpart was watching the world outside through the open window across the room with furrowed brows, likely in thought. While Link had just seen him without the hood the day before, as brief as it was, there was a noticeable shift from how he was before to how he was now. Maybe it was just the way he held himself. Maybe it was his expression. Maybe it was simply from not being used to seeing the other’s face. He sure did not know even with his brain actually deciding to start functioning properly again. 

The man across from him shifted his gaze away from the window to meet his own. “What? Did I get something on my face?” He seemed more confused and amused than anything else.

It was then that Link realized he had been staring. He shook his head as he blinked away, embarrassed. It did not help that his ears tended to turn red easily. “No. You just…look different.”

Ravio rubbed the back of his neck before running fingers through his hair as if in an attempt to tame it. Despite their recent journey, it somehow still looked well maintained, so there was not much taming that needed to be done in the first place. “Oh? Well, I did cut my hair, if that’s what you mean. Kinda miss it being longer though.”

“It’s not that. You just…. I don’t know.”

Link’s comment was met with a hum and a nod of the head. Emerald eyes flitted over their surroundings as if he had not been in there for however long the Lorulean porridge, whatever it was called, took to cook.

“So…,” Link started, trailing off. It was honestly strange talking to the merchant face to face. Obviously, talking to the man when he wore a rabbit hood that covered his entire head was also strange, but that was for a different reason. 

“So…?” 

“When will you be heading out for that meeting today?” he said slowly, still trying to come up with what to say. Goddesses was he terrible at making conversation.

“What, is that a hint that you want me out of your house already, Mr. Hero? My food can’t be that bad.” Despite his joking tone, Ravio’s eyes flashed with fleeting panic. He continued before Link could actually try to clarify what he meant. “But, I figured that I’d head out after cleaning up. It’ll probably take a bit to iron out the details—probably won’t even finish today. So, you’ll have the place to yourself for a while.”

The adventurer bit the inside of his lip. “Right, well…I could do the cleaning for you.”

“No, no. I said I’d do it and I’m a man of my word.”

“Yeah, but you did the cooking.”

“Exactly. So, it’s my mess, not yours.” 

Link narrowed his eyes at the Lolian. Out of all the things that they could be arguing about, he never thought that it would be about who would clean up. With a huff, he finished off the last of his breakfast and tea before standing up. 

“You can’t stop me from at least helping,” he said pointedly while moving to put his dishes with the pots that needed to be washed. 

The other sighed. “I—No, I guess you’re right.”

Once the merchant finished his food, it did not take long to clean everything up. As soon as they were done, Ravio immediately started to get ready for his follow-up meeting with The Princess. For some reason, something seemed off about the merchant. Not noticeably so, but just enough for him to feel it. 

Whatever the other’s change in mood was about, Link was glad that he did not have to come with this time. Sure, the walk was a pain and so were the guards, but he also knew that he would probably lose his mind if he had to sit through the entire meeting. Discussing and negotiating the specifics of an alliance were not included in any part of his idea of a good time. Well, that was true of negotiating politics in general. There were too many toes that he could, and probably would, step on and not enough use for swords other than possibly intimidation and, more importantly, war. That was definitely something to stay away from, however. 

“Well, I guess I’m off,” Ravio said, striding across the room. He adjusted the hood that he must have decided to wear again for the journey, “I’ll be back soon-ish. So, see ya, Mr. Hero!” 

Link simply replied with, “Yep,” and gave a nod at the other’s wave. Once the front door was fully closed he turned to the staircase.

As needless as it was to say, Ravio would clearly need a room of his own. Right next to his own bedroom was a similarly sized spare one that was currently being used to store all of the various items he had obtained during his many adventures. However, Link did not entirely trust that he would not go through everything in there, so it all needed to be relocated. 

The room was probably the most organized-looking part of the house if he was being honest, so he felt a little pained at the idea of moving his stuff again. He also knew how long it took to haul everything up from the cellar to where it currently was. Of course, he had been ordered by Zelda to just supervise the people working on his house while they did it, but he was not about to put potentially dangerous items in the hands of strangers. At least everything only needed to be brought into his own room this time. 

It ended up taking over an hour to get everything cleared out even with the help of one of his many power bracelets. The main issue was finding a place for everything, but he could deal with the pile in the corner of his own room later. Either way, the spare one, now looking much cleaner than his, was successfully emptied barring a side table and a cabinet that came up to his waist. 

Obviously, Ravio would also need his own bed at some point. For now though, the makeshift one he assembled from a heavy quilt only used during winter, a spare pillow, and the long cushion from the three-person couch downstairs would have to do. Given that he would need to go to the market at some point anyway, Link figured that he could place an order for a proper one then. Ravio would still have to pay him back for it though, of course.

Although he would never admit it, the house oddly felt as empty as the spare room did now. Now that he was done with his task, Link was confronted with its quietness and the sense of directionlessness that came with it. He never did well without having an active objective to work on. With nothing much else to do after tending the orchard and making a humble, though admittedly watery, stew out of what little ingredients he had left in his kitchen for lunch and dinner, he sat and considered Ravio’s request from earlier. 

He ended up sitting there at the kitchen table twirling his pen for a while. Eventually, he started on a list of rules for however long the arrangement would last. While not exactly a contract, he figured that it would work well enough. The first few were fairly easy to come up with. Soon it read:

"Rules:

- My house is not your shop

- Don’t sell, rent out, touch, take, or mess with my things unless directly told to by me

- Clean up your own after yourself

- Sheerow is your responsibility

- Ask before rearranging things

- Don’t dye my rug purple like last time either No altering the furniture"

After that, it was more difficult to think of what to write than he thought it would be. He supposed that the matter of rent would be the next thing to consider though. For whatever reason, it felt odd to charge the guy who he invited. Helping just to help and expecting nothing in return was just part of his life at this point after all. Hell, Ravio was the one who even brought up the idea of rent both times, not him. And sure, it never ended up getting paid, but it was not like he made much of an effort to collect it. 

Then again, his wallet was significantly lighter now because of the merchant. 

He did not know why he was bothering to argue with himself honestly. His mind was already made up. But, there was a reason why he did not like the quiet; It made him think. 

In the end, he only added one last item to his list:

"- I still expect rent from last time"