Holding Out For a Hero

Ordon

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"Ilia! We found a boy! He's washed up on the shores!"

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Everything was fuzzy. He couldn't see anything. It felt like he was choking. He couldn't breathe! It was like there was nothing, except the strange sensations of something pushing on his chest.

"Is he dead, Dad?"

"I don't think so, Colin. He seems to be coming about."

Link turned his head towards the noise, confused.

"It's Okay there! Relax. You're in no condition to be getting up."

He heard footsteps pounding on wood. A girl's voice sounded. "Rusl! Is he okay?"

The voice from before spoke. I don't know Ilia, but he's not dead." 

Link felt the choking sensation again. Jolting upright, he hacked out a cough. Water spalshed all over his front. It felt good, nice and cool, yet uncomfortable. Slowly opening his eyes, Link glanced around. The first thing he noticed was a tall man. He had short brown hair and a fuzzy beard. He was wearing a white tunic with some sort of green arm strap. Then the girl. She had dark brown hair, and was wearing a clean white dress. She must be Ilia. There was also a young boy with golden blonde hair. Looking around, Link realized he was in a small wooden hut. There was a window off to one side, and a door off to the other. "Where am I? Who are you?" He signed.

The man spoke up first. "I am Rusl. This," he gestured to the blond boy, "Is my son, Colin. And this young woman right here is Ilia. She and Colin found you washed up on our shores. This is Ordon. You're in Ordon village."

Yes!

He had done it! He had escaped Hyrule! They would never have to see him again!

"Where are you from?" Ilia spoke up. "And what brings you here?"

Link's thoughts came to a stop. "I...I don't want to talk about it." Too many painful memories."I feel a lot better now. May I please get up?"

"Not now. You need a lot of rest. You've been through quite the wringer." Rusl sighed. "Oh! I almost forgot! What's your name, young man?"

"Link." he signed, "And how do you know Hylian sign?"  "We don't." Said Ilia. "I thought it was called Ordon sign!"

"Not so many questions!" Exclaimed Rusl. "You need your rest." Pushing Link back down into bed, he grabbed Colin by the shoulder and left. 

"Goodbye Link, it was nice to meet you." Ilia left.

The next few days went by in a blur. Link spent hours on end sleeping comfortably in his bed. He also got constant visits from Colin and Ilia almost every day. They didn't talk about much, mostly just about Ordon. Hyrule was still too much of an uncomfortable subject for Link, so he tried to avoid it the best he could. Eventually, Rusl declared him well enough to take a walk around the house. From what little he could see, Ordon was beautiful! There were high, grassy, foothills that surrounded the whole tiny village. There was a wide, but shallow river running through the village. It reminded him of Kakariko. Link shook his head. He didn't want to think of Hyrule. This was his new home. 

A few weeks later, Rusl deemed him well enough to join him working in the fields. As he stretched and climbed out of bed that morning, he had fleeting thoughts of all he had left behind. Fighting hard to push the thoughts out of his head, Link pushed open the door to start his day.

He was met by a huge crowd. It seemed like everyone from the village was here! The cheering was deafening. Link had just started to shyly back into the house when an important looking man stepped forward. "Welcome to our humble village Link!" he exclaimed. "I am Mayor Bo. I hope you find your stay here comfortable and enjoyable." 

Link stepped back out. "Thank you so much! I've enjoyed your hospitality." He immediately remembered his manners, and dropped down, his one knee slamming into the grassy field. Bo seemed taken aback. "Now now!" He laughed, "There's no need for such manners! I'm not royalty!" Link noticed Rusl pushing his way to the front of the crowd. Finally, a familiar face! "Thank you all for coming to meet Link. However, I believe we are overcrowding him." Rusl reached forwards and placed a strong hand on Link's shoulder. "We'll watch over Link until he's all the way healed." Rusl gestured towards the hills. "Come on Link, I'll show you the fields." Link followed Rusl out through the crowds. He couldn't help but feel excited.

This was his new life.