Time's Moving Faster Than I Can Count

An Understanding

Suddenly, he stopped moving. His eye moved to the ground as he tilted his head down, one single thought going through his head.

He didn't go to either place this time round, was that thing still beneath Kakariko?

---

Link refused to describe the creature in the same detail Time had given. It was scary enough to think about what it did to his friend, he was so glad he'd never seen it in person himself. The look on Time's face had been more than enough for all of them. He told them enough for them to get the idea, but would not say it all. Shad was writing fast, he had to get every detail down.

Shaking his head, Link took a deep breath, and prepared himself to keep going. Zelda gently placed a gloved hand over his own. She tried to ready herself for whatever was coming next, but she did not expect such a horrible truth.

"At the end of the journey, we found out he was only nine years old." He bit his lip, looking down. "Nine years old when he started his journey, then thrust into being sixteen, then forced back into being nine. Physically, at least. Mentally, we never knew. It never seemed to align properly."
"How could they?" Zelda whispered, and Link understood immediately.
"I don't know. I really don't."
"Who?" Auru asked, looking between the two of them.
"The gods." They answered at the same time.

Silence descended over them again. Yes, they had heard that from Link earlier, but it was still shocking. Especially coming from Zelda, so readily as it was. Anger was settled across Link's face easily, his eyes were narrowed, and his lips were in a thin line, twitching as they tried to twist into a snarl. Rusl had heard and seen this from Link the night before, but he'd be lying if he said he ever expected it, from either of them.

Shad made sure his notes were perfected the way he wanted, and then turned to face Link. He wanted to ask just one question, one that would help structure the book correctly;

"Can you tell us about his journey?" Shad's voice was tender, knowing this was difficult.
"I can tell ya what I know. It ain't as much knowledge as he had. For good reason, he wouldn't speak on it all. None of us blame him, and anyone with common sense will feel the same."

Shad grabbed his paper and edged his chair closer to Link, ready and willing to note every single thing down. Link remained silent for a moment longer, his anger fading to sadness behind his eyes, though his face looked empty.

"When I get to some later stuff, 'cause y'all are gonna wanna know how I know this, I'm gonna have to share somethin' I don't really wanna." He told them and nodded to Zelda, who nodded back. He didn't give them chance to ask what he meant, he just began the story.

---

"You were nine?!" Wind exclaimed. "All the stories said you were twelve!"
"Yes, I was." Time sighed. "Perhaps I'd have been a little more prepared at twelve, or maybe I wouldn't. It's hard to tell."
"Why so early?" Legend crossed his arms, brows furrowed.
"Because Ganondorf had made a move for the Spiritual Stones. All three give access to the Door of Time, which is where the Master Sword lies, and that in return gives access to the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce is. He had already killed the Great Deku Tree with parasites, my only parental figure. But I had the emerald, so he couldn't take it. He had also riled up the Dodongos, starving the Gorons, but was unsuccessful in taking the ruby. Then, he had poisoned Lord Jabu-Jabu, the Zora's guardian deity, who had also swallowed the sapphire, though I'm not sure how. So again, he was unsuccessful in getting what he wanted. We all know what happens when Ganon gets the Triforce." He grimaced, and the group nodded. "So, Zelda told me to get the stones. The naïve children we were, we thought doing that would give us the upper hand. I already had the emerald, so I cleared the cavern for the Gorons and got the ruby, then I helped cleanse Jabu-Jabu and subsequently rescued Princess Ruto. After that, I thought I was just returning to Zelda, but Ganondorf had made his move. Zelda rode past me with Impa, throwing the Ocarina of Time to me as she went. The stones alone wouldn't open the door, you also need this," He held up the Ocarina. "And this," He played the Song of Time. "I had to open it. Inside was the sword. I didn't know what it was, but I figured I needed it. When I grabbed it, I heard Ganondorf laughing, thanking me for doing the job for him, then everything went dark."

Time sat in silence for a moment, looking so, so tired.

"When I woke up, I was physically sixteen, but my mind hadn't aged a day. Nothing felt or looked right, I certainly didn't sound right. I was still a lost child, and I was in a place I didn't know. The sage that was there with me explained it was all that remained of the Sacred Realm, but that didn't make it better. I was in a body I didn't know how to use, I had a sword that felt wrong in my hand, and a mission I knew nothing about. I don't want to go into detail, I'm sure if you boys think about it you'll get the gist of it all. After that, I had to head to the Forest Temple. There, I dealt with Phantom Ganon. After that thing's defeat, Ganon imprisoned it. He didn't destroy it, nor did he take it back, he imprisoned it, though I don't know how, why, or where. My only childhood friend, Saria, was the Sage of Forest. However, I don't have any reason to believe that any of them physically survived. If they did, they certainly didn't have a reason to remain in the physical world."

Time spoke briefly about the Fire Temple, the Water Temple, Sheik, going back in time, the well beneath Karariko, the going forward in time, the Shadow Temple, the back and forth of the Spirit Temple, and finally, Ganon's Castle. He told them how Sheik was actually Zelda in disguise, how Ganon was sealed, and how he was sent back to a world he didn't belong to, to a world that didn't remember. He didn't tell them everything, and certainly didn't mention his second journey.

He never mentioned the friend that left him behind, without every saying goodbye.

But he was no fool, he saw realisation dawn over Legend, Wind, and Twilight. He connected the dots with ease, and realised one thing of his own.

He had doomed those boys to suffer the same cruel fate he went through, the one thing he had fought to prevent, and failed.

Once the story was over, he went back to sorting his things. He ignored the stares, the glances, the whispering of the group. He was a grown man, after all. Children and young men didn't need to be worrying about him, that was his job.

---

As Link spoke, Telma sat with tears welling in her eyes. Shad looked crestfallen as he wrote, Ashei and Auru both looked between angry and sorrowful, Rusl looked plainly upset, and Zelda had grief in her eyes. The group sat silently again, unable and unwilling to do anything for a little while. However, a little bit of movement caught Link's attention. He looked over to see a fluffy white tail swaying as little feet padded across the floor.

Louise jumped into the table, purring loudly. Link immediately focused all of his attention on the feline, running his fingers through her soft, lush white fur. She purred louder, happy to have his attention. Rusl have a small, amused huff at how quickly the cat caught his son's attention. While Link cuddled up to Louise, Telma cleaned up the glass Shad had dropped a while ago. She smiled softly as she did so, the rest of them just as amused. Louise jumped up to put her paws on Link's arms, rubbing her face against his, and licking the tears from his cheeks. He planted some kisses to the top of her head and cuddled her close.

"Hey sassy lady," He cooed quietly. "I've missed you."