Chapter 4 - The Forbidden

The Forbidden


Link’s grandmother closed the door behind her after she had stepped out of her small house. She stepped forward, carefully stepping over any rocks in her path and flattening the tall grass with her heels. She turned and made her way to the stable close by with a pail in her hand. The day was young, and the sun set gentle warmth on her skin in the cold morning as she walked. Slowly she made her way to the stable, taking her time and savoring the beauty around her. When she at last stepped over one last rock and pushed her foot through the last blades of tall grass, she found herself in the stable. Link’s grandmother found herself in the shadows of the stable, with only a few rays of the sun leaking through the cracks on the roof. She lifted her head up when she heard the sound of hay being shoveled. There was Link, dressed for work for the day and his feet in sandals, already dirtied. Link’s grandmother placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side. Link eyed her and lifted the pitch fork from the hay and turned his whole body toward her.

“You shouldn’t be up and out of bed!”

“Can’t you see that I’m well?” Link replied spreading his arms out, “If I skip another day of work, may daily routine will fall apart! And you don’t have to worry about me, grandma, I’m fine now.”

His grandmother raised an eyebrow at him and tapped her foot. Link kept his gaze fixed on her and arched his mouth into a grin. When he placed both hands on the pitchfork again, he heard his grandmother let out a sigh.

“Fine… but you just recovered from an awful fever, don’t overdo yourself.” She said turning around, “And that means, don’t get bucked off the horses…”

Link chuckled as he stabbed the pitchfork into the hay once more. After she had left and returned to the house, Link had finished his job in the stable. He placed the pitchfork against the wall and stepped down from the large pile of hay. For a moment his skin and hair was once again bathed in the radiance of the sun from the small rays of light, but he soon went into the shadows once more. However, the shadows were dispelled completely when he went outside under the morning sky. He looked toward the corral of horses and breathed in fresh air and closed his eyes and began to make his way.

The traumatizing event of the stone seemed nothing more than a nightmare now that Link was up and about. Even though the memory still haunted him in the back of his mind, to him, it didn’t matter at the time. His fever had passed, and now he felt as fine as ever. Why would it matter now? He would much rather live in utter ignorance than know of what the stone might or was capable of doing. It had not affected him in his daily life at all… or so he thought.

Link finally reached the fence to the horse corral and observed each of the horses in it. He turned his head when he heard a neigh coming from one of the horses. It was Epona, and there she was trotting toward him. When she reached him, she snorted with delight and bobbed her head up and down. Link rubbed her muzzle and smiled,

“I haven’t seen you in a long time, Epona.” He started, “What do you think- shall I ride you?

Link lifted one leg over the fence with the other following. Now sitting, he set his hands on the wood on both sides and slid down. When his feet thumped against the ground, however, his knees collapsed and he fell to the grass. Epona snorted, as if to laugh and Link winced, placing a hand on his knee. He still smiled though, and laughed at himself before looking up at Epona.

“I suppose my legs are still a little bit weak!” He said, “But no matter! That won’t change my mind.”

Link took the brush and began to rub the rough bristles against Epona’s white mane. When he had finished brushing the hair on her back, he proceeded to bring the saddle. He placed it on her and brought the reins over her face. He pat her on the neck and held out his hand, which was full of oats, to her muzzle. Her lips wiggled and her tongue slipped out of her mouth and scooped up the oats. Link laughed at the feeling, because it had tickled his palm. When he looked up and toward the forest, the smile on his face immediately vanished. Something ominous swept over him, as if it was winter’s hand brushing across his skin. But it was neither winter, nor a wind’s breeze, but a chill. He stared, as if he knew something was there, but could not see anything as of yet. He continued to stare, as if trying to see what was beyond.

Link’s eyes widened when he saw the trees bend forward like something large and heavy rubbed against them. It stopped for a moment, and then moved quickly along the forest wall toward the town. Link dashed to the edge of the horse corral and jumped over the fence. He landed on the other side, one knee against the grass and a hand lowered to keep his balanced. He used that hand to spring up to his feet and run toward the house. He burst through the front door, nearly knocking it off its hinges. He passed his grandmother in the kitchen, who looked at him with confusion as he ran to the upper floor to his room. There, he found his hunting bow and a quiver full of arrows. Strapping the quiver to his back and taking the bow, Link immediately ran downstairs.

“Link, where are you going?” His grandmother asked.

“Grandma, keep Aryll safe, and don’t go outside! There’s a monster heading toward the village!”

Before he could hear a reply from her, he was already well out of the door and halfway to the corral. When Epona was in sight, he took his thumb and forefinger and brought it to his mouth and whistled loudly. As she trotted toward him, he looked toward the village and could hear an uprising coming from the village folk. When Epona came, he leapt onto her back and quickly brought her to a run toward the village. Fly… He thought. Fly fast…

Women took hold of their children’s hands as they cried for help. Husbands clung to their wives as they fled their homes, not even glancing back behind them. A chosen few men had taken action and mounted their steeds armed with their own hunting bows, defending the villagers who desperately fled. Link stopped at a cross road and saw Vaati who motioned to come beside him with the other men.

When Link looked straight forward down the road in front of them, his stomach turned in disgust at what he saw. It was the monster who had caused even the trees of the forest to be knocked to their sides. It resembled a giant man, but much more distorted and deformed. It lifted its head from eating a dead horse, its mouth covered with its blood. The skin on its body seemed to be charred and burned as if it had been torched with flame in the past. Its arms were so long, the backs of its hands dragged on the ground as it hunched over and as its knees were bent. The skin on its face, especially the cheeks, sagged down, folding out the lip and revealing its yellow, bloodstained, and sharp teeth. On its head, it seemed to be that there was once hair, but now only a few thin, messy locks remained. But what struck them with the most fear were the monster’s eyes. It seemed the irises were rolled back into the head, exposing the pale whiteness of the eyes. But it could still see… and not only see… but its gaze seemed to pierce through souls.

It charged forward with abnormal speed for its size, dragging its arms along the ground. It caused the men to separate from each other. Now they were on either side of the beast, but now it slowly turned toward one side and ignoring the other, as if the men in that direction no longer existed. It turned toward the side where Link and Vaati remained, but fixed its gaze on Link. It let out a low gurgle and licked its teeth with its pointed tongue.

Link’s eyes widened with fear when he began to hear familiar whispers. He was then reminded of that day where he had encountered the strange stone, but then soon forgot that memory. Not only that memory, but he seemed to forget everything in that exact moment as he stared into the beast’s gaze. His surroundings disappeared around him and he could no longer hear the cries and screams coming from the villagers. The wind ceased to blow and all feeling left him. The only thing that he could hear was his own heart beat… echoing in the darkness and fading… its thumps gradually getting lighter and lighter. Sooner or later, he could no longer hear it except for the whispers and groans surrounding him.

“Wi-ng-ed… Da-rk-ness…”

Eventually they had faded and there was nothing else to be heard. There was nothing to be seen. There was nothing to be felt. There was nothing to be remembered… it was as if his very existence had vanished, and he was plunged into an everlasting abyss that he could not escape.

What Vaati saw was that Link’s arms were draped at his sides, and his head was down. His whole body seemed to be limp and unstable as the beast continued to stare at him with his eyes now glowing. Vaati called Link’s name and turned toward the beast, knocking and arrow and firing it into its eye. It writhed in pain, letting out a gurgle backed up with a screech. Once again Vaati called Link’s name, this time shaking him awake.

Link looked at the beast stumbling around in pain with an arrow through its eye, but strangely, not falling to the ground. The men across from them had fired their arrows into its back as well, causing it a great deal of more pain. Link turned his horse around and began to gallop with Vaati and the other men following behind.

“Lead it out of the village!!”

Soon after, they heard the beast stomping toward them and following them. Link heeled Epona’s sides and quickly ran off. His heart was pounding, and his breaths were heavy as he heard the cries and moans behind him. He seemed to feel the gaze of the monster piercing two holes into his back, resulting in an uncomfortable chill. Vaati looked back on his horse toward the beast behind them and rode off to the side.

“I’ll lure it to the cliffs!”

“Vaati, wait!!” Link called out.

Vaati turned as far as he was able and shot an arrow at the monster, which had growled in anger and charged toward him. The earth seemed to rumble from its stomps, and it seemed as if the ground would split asunder. However, as Vaati led it closer and closer to the cliff, the rumbles faded. Eventually they had stopped their horses, and cornered the beast on the edge of the cliff with Vaati in front of it.

Slowly it approached Vaati, blood streaming from its wounds, and letting out gurgles from its throat. Vaati had dismounted his horse and released it as he stepped backward from the monster, staring up at its distorted face. He looked toward Link as if it was a signal to fire. He and the other men had knocked arrows and once again aimed at the monster. They released the strings on their bows, and the arrows whistled through the air. The monster cried out in pain, but instead of turning to strike, it leaned forward and fell against the ground. In a brief moment, Link saw Vaati stumble on the ledge and it broke off and began to fall down the cliff. Link gasped and screamed for Vaati, seeing him fall with the monster down the cliff. When they had fallen, no longer did they hear the screams of panic coming from Vaati, nor did they hear the monster letting out its disturbing gurgles.

Link and the other men immediately dismounted their horses and rushed to the edge of the cliff and peeked over only to see a rapid river running through a canyon. The roar of the river echoed through the air, but nothing else. There was no trace of them; neither Vaati nor the monster. Link fell to his knees and clenched his fists, grabbing onto loose dirt. He gritted his teeth as his lips twitched. He inhaled deep and shaky breaths and trembled while his vision became blurred with tears. Link stared helplessly at the roaring river, desperately looking for Vaati, but he could not be found.

One of the men placed a gentle hand on Link’s shoulder. At that moment, a cloud moved in front of the sun, darkening the world around them for a moment. It darkened, just as Link’s heart was filled with the mist of despair. A cold wind blew against his face, and seemed to make his tears freeze with a chill. Since his mother had died, this feeling had not accompanied Link, nor did he expect it to until this very moment. He had forgotten the weight and burden it brought when the death of a loved one had come. Neither the comforting hand on his shoulder, nor the cloud finally leaving the sun’s face brighten him, to him, the world still seemed dark at that moment.

‘~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~‘

Link sat in a chair by the fireplace in his home with a blanket around his shoulders and a cup of a warm drink in hand. He stared with a lifeless gaze at the flame, not even blinking, as if dead. No emotion was seen on his face; only a straight and unwavering mouth. His lower eyelids were slightly darker, and his hair was tangled and it fell in front of his eyes.

His grandmother sat across from him, to keep him company. Even though she did not do any sneaking of the sort, and made her entrance quite obvious, he paid no heed to her, as if she had not entered at all. Link only stared at the dancing flames before him, ever changing and crackling as if angry. The memory of earlier that day haunted him. So many times he replayed it in his head, contemplating what he could have done to prevent Vaati from falling to his death. The more he thought of it, the more he resented himself for not taking action.

Link’s thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on the door. His grandmother stood up and answered it, but Link didn’t move even one muscle. However, he could hear the conversation coming from the other room. He listened carefully to the quiet voices.

“Is Link at home?”

“Yes, but he really isn’t-”

“I understand he is still mourning, but the council demands his presence immediately.”

Soon after, heavy footsteps entered the room where Link remained. Finally Link turned his head to acknowledge his visitor out of courtesy, but he did not give any greeting or any smile like he would usually have done. His visitor also did not give a smile or a greeting, but entered with a hard and serious face. Link’s grandmother came behind him as he began to speak.

“Link, you are summoned to the village council. They require you come immediately, so fix yourself up to be at least presentable.”

Link had only washed his face and combed his hair with his fingers. As he came downstairs, the man turned to leave, expecting him to follow. Link turned toward his grandmother and said:

“This won’t take long.”

As Link closed the door behind him, and looked up at the sky, he felt the chill of night. The moonlight bathed his face with its light, as if it poured its heart out, spilling its blood onto the plains. The stars glimmered as if tears were going to fall from them, as they watched the moon. Link looked forward to find his visitor waiting for him, looking back to assure himself that he was following. Link took a step forward then followed him without any stops.

Link eventually found that he was led into the heart of the village. Not a soul was out or even the noise of them coming from inside their homes. Link soon learned why when he was taken to a certain house he had not been to or seen very often. The man looked back at him, bidding him to enter. Link did so, and found himself surrounded by most of the townsfolk, sitting on seats either side of him. When he observed their faces, Link could not see any sight of relief or anything of the sort. Instead, he saw sadness turning into anger buried in their faces. He looked in front of him and saw the mayor sitting a desk with several people at his side. The man that had led Link here walked to the mayor’s side.

“Link, the Nameless,” The mayor began, “You were of the group that stayed behind to exterminate the charred beast?”

“Yes.”

“And witnessed the death of Vaati?”

Link’s voice choked for a bit when he heard those words, but eventually he had replied, “Yes.”

The mayor paused for a bit and leaned back in his chair, “Do you have knowledge of where that monster came from?”

“From… the forest… I believe.”

Link looked around the room when he began to hear murmuring coming from the people surrounding him. They stared at him with cold and serious looks. The mayor raised his hand to silence them. When the last whisper was uttered, he once again spoke.

“And which forest was it.”

“It was the one to the east.” Link said before he heard even harsher whispers that followed.

“That forest is forbidden to all… our village has stayed at peace for all its years, because we have not disturbed the trees to the east. The only way that this event could have happened if there was a disturbance… did you enter that forest, Link?”

Link cast his gaze downward, looking at the wooden floor. Memories began to flood his mind as if a wave of the sea had tossed itself ashore. Suddenly he felt dark, and a shadowy feeling came over him. He placed his left hand, which bore the mark, on his chest and clenched his clothing.

“I remember once… I had wondered into those woods without knowing.” Link said removing his hand from his chest and as the crowd grew in volume, “There was a stone carrying a fowl glow and it had taken control of my mind. Before I had known it… the stone was forced into my chest.”

The mayor’s face turned to shock and disgust as the congregation stood up and began yelling at Link and at the mayor, announcing their own requests. A man walked from his seat to Link’s side and briskly grabbed hold of his left wrist and lifted it.

“This boy is a curse to this village!!” He started, “He came here only remembering his first name and with this black mark!”

Another shouted from his seat, “That mark guarantees his guiltiness! He is a curse!”

The mayor suddenly stood from his seat and raised both of his hands, “Silence!!” As soon as he had called out, the crowd silenced themselves and turned toward the mayor with eager eyes.

“Link, I know not if that stone you spoke of has any connection to the forest to the east, or if your mark is indeed a curse. However, you have intruded the peace of this village and you are responsible for the deaths that occurred today and have proclaimed yourself the forbidden. Leave this village and find the Glistening Princess if you wish for counsel on that stone to be removed from your body…” He placed both his hands on the desk before him and narrowed his eyes, “but never… return to this village again…”

Link looked around one last time and saw on the people’s faces that he was no longer welcome. Suddenly, he felt out of place and alienated… hated… Somehow he thought all this was indeed his fault. So he slowly turned around and began to walk out into the darkness of the night, not looking back to those foul, unflinching eyes. He was a curse… a burden… and he didn’t belong here.

‘~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~’~‘

Link had changed clothes to a green tunic, light brown leggings, a white undershirt, and a green hat. Instead of sandals, he now wore boots that could endure more rough terrain and he had put on gauntlets. He strapped on his bow and quiver before he had slipped on a tan cloak. He made his way downstairs and just as he was about to go out the door he was stopped by his grandmother. For once he saw loving eyes that held remorse and sympathy for him. She opened her arms and immediately he flew into them. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder. He found that his tongue was tied down, and he could not utter any words that were proper for this moment, but he knew this was the last time he would be in his grandmother’s embrace.

“Good luck, Link…”

When he found that she had loosened her grasp, Link released himself from her and quickly went out the door, trying hard not to look back at her. The door closed, and she was left alone for a moment. She placed her hand on her shoulder where he had rested his face and found her clothing to be slightly drenched from his tears.

“Grandmother, has big brother left?”

Link’s grandmother looked back at Aryll with tears nearly in her eyes. Slowly she nodded as she removed her hand from her shoulder. Aryll gasped and scurried toward the door and flew out into the night, running after Link. Link’s grandmother would have stopped her from going, to stop the cause of more pain, but her muscles were stiff and could not move. She just stood there with the door before her wide open and Aryll plunging into the darkness of the night. Only a single tear fell from her eye and shattered against the wood floor.

Link had just finished placing the saddle on Epona and strapping the last bag to her back when he heard footsteps coming toward him. When he turned toward the darkness, he saw a little girl bursting into the moonlight and rushing toward him. Aryll had wrapped her arms tightly around Link’s body when she reached him.

“Aryll…”

“Big brother…” She said with a muffled voice, “Please don’t forget us…”

Link knelt down to her level and pushed her away from him, but held her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. At last, his lips curved into a smile when he looked at her, seeing those innocent and child eyes. Her face full of regret and mourning, but her love for Link unhidden.

“In all my memories and in all my dreams I will remember you… I promise.” He said, taking her small hand in his, “Take care of grandmother.”

Aryll smiled for a moment when he hugged her tightly one last time. At least he knew that two people in this village loved him, and always would… He stood up and mounted Epona and rode off into the night. Aryll watched him with unwavering eyes, seeing the silhouette going off into the distance. It was only a short time, but when she had watched him ride, it seemed to last forever until he had finally disappeared off in the distance, as if vanishing forever.

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