“I have no idea, honestly…” the blond mused, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to free himself from the rope tightly wrapped around his body. “What do they even want from us? We’re just kids! What can we do?"
What could they do? He couldn’t think of a thing - the squalor they were thrown into upon being snatched up unaware had nothing but broken glass along the floor and hay bales at the sides.
Wait.
"…Quick, can you kick one of those shards of glass towards me? I have an idea…”
“I think… I think you look different enough. Those villagers can be… well, not the smartest sometimes, they’ll probably be pretty easy to fool.” While that sounded a bit mean to say, it was also true. “So I think you’re fine…”
He then did the same, feeling a little uncomfortable in only his undershirt and pants. He was so used to that hat and tunic it felt weird without them. But whatever, if it would help them not get caught again, he’d go without it. “…ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“We-well… might as well stuff these away somewhere,” the blond suggested, gesturing to the pile of green in his hands. “Can’t let anyone see. Maybe… you could call your horse on over? We can ride on her to town to be more convincing, and we could also put our clothes in one of the bags you’ve got on her. Erm…"
He shuffled about in an awkward fashion, unsure of how to phrase his question. "And uh… and how long are we going to be staying? Do we have enough for multiple nights?"
"(jumps in on the slave market meme) Twilight's eyes widened. Was that who the thought it was, being auctioned off? And what could he do? He couldn't just let him be sold to someone... right?"
His wrists were bound behind his back, neck secured with a leather collar. Mounted to the collar was a leash tied to a fence, said fence belonging to the perimeter of the auctioning area. He was fourth in line, ready to meet his fate. Young boys like him were in high interests for manual labor, not to mention other forms of slavery.
A large figure passed him by, slapping him across the face. What he said was something that even Link couldn’t decipher, but whatever it was… it made the hero cringe.
His gaze met Twilight’s, and he gave the other boy a weak smile.
“…Twilight."
He was more worried than he was letting on, seeing him fall over like that. But hopefully after getting some food and rest he’d feel better.
With that, he blew on the whistle and Epona came running. He pet her for a moment, smiling, then straightened her saddle and held out his hand to help him up. “Come here, I’ll help you on to her,” He said. “Then I’ll get on and we can ride to my house. And I can get you something to eat.”
The blond took hold of the elder boy’s hand, gasping a bit as he felt himself being effortlessly lifted up and into the saddle. Not too long after, Twilight had gotten on behind him.
“I’ve never been on a horse before…” he commented softly, petting Epona’s mane. “She’s really nice. Also…"
He hated to ask this. "Do you want me to wear the collar, still?"
“I have no idea, honestly…” the blond mused, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to free himself from the rope tightly wrapped around his body. “What do they even want from us? We’re just kids! What can we do?"
What could they do? He couldn’t think of a thing - the squalor they were thrown into upon being snatched up unaware had nothing but broken glass along the floor and hay bales at the sides.
Wait.
"…Quick, can you kick one of those shards of glass towards me? I have an idea…”
“Yeah, sounds good. Let’s do that and hope we don’t get caught. That’s pretty much all we can do as of now, I think… at least once we find a place to stay we can relax a little.” He wasn’t going to fully let his guard down, though. And he hoped they’d be able to get back their weapons soon enough.
“All right, good. Let me just…” He tore off his hat and stuffed it away in his tunic before removing that as well. All he had on now was his brown undershirt, boots, tights, and perhaps a little less dignity than before. He felt naked without that hat of his on.
“And…” Lithe fingers combed through golden hair, mussing it up to the point he had given himself a center part and tucked some hair behind his ears.
“I have no idea, honestly…” the blond mused, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to free himself from the rope tightly wrapped around his body. “What do they even want from us? We’re just kids! What can we do?"
What could they do? He couldn’t think of a thing - the squalor they were thrown into upon being snatched up unaware had nothing but broken glass along the floor and hay bales at the sides.
Wait.
"…Quick, can you kick one of those shards of glass towards me? I have an idea…”
“Hah, well, I don’t think we’ll have to go that far,” He said. “But if it comes to that… yes, I think we could pull that off. I can sew a little, if we can get ahold of some fabric I could make us some new clothes.”
But, they didn’t have much fabric with them, did they? So they’d most likely have to sneak into a shop somehow, or something like that, in order to get ahold of enough cloth to make disguises… he sighed. “Yeah, unfortunately, getting fabric might be easier said than done.”
“…Darn it. There’s gotta be an easy way of getting fabric… I mean, I guess we could just take off some layers, our hats, and mess with our hair more. We’ll be in and out, right?” It was still very possible that they would be caught no matter how they dressed. “I can take off my tunic and leave my undershirt on, and take off my hat. And… we can see about our hair…"
"(jumps in on the slave market meme) Twilight's eyes widened. Was that who the thought it was, being auctioned off? And what could he do? He couldn't just let him be sold to someone... right?"
His wrists were bound behind his back, neck secured with a leather collar. Mounted to the collar was a leash tied to a fence, said fence belonging to the perimeter of the auctioning area. He was fourth in line, ready to meet his fate. Young boys like him were in high interests for manual labor, not to mention other forms of slavery.
A large figure passed him by, slapping him across the face. What he said was something that even Link couldn’t decipher, but whatever it was… it made the hero cringe.
His gaze met Twilight’s, and he gave the other boy a weak smile.
“…Twilight."
He smiled and nodded as if to say ‘you’re welcome,’ before resuming his serious face and leading him away from the crowd. Once they got far enough away, he’d remove that awful collar and untie his hands. But as of now… it was probably best to keep up the act.
After a while, though, he looked around and reached over to him, quickly untying the knot binding his wrists. “You okay?” He asked. “Come on, I’ll get you somewhere to rest. My place isn’t too far from here, actually, but we’d get there faster on a horse… you okay with that?” He asked, pulling out his whistle to call Epona.
Link gave the older boy a slow nod as he rubbed his sore wrists, licking his lips before speaking. “I’m fine. I just… need to eat. I haven’t eaten in a couple of days…”
His balance faltered, and without a warning the blond fell to his knees, cupping his stomach.
“Aghn… I-I’ll be fine. Just… just get me to your place, then…"
“I have no idea, honestly…” the blond mused, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to free himself from the rope tightly wrapped around his body. “What do they even want from us? We’re just kids! What can we do?"
What could they do? He couldn’t think of a thing - the squalor they were thrown into upon being snatched up unaware had nothing but broken glass along the floor and hay bales at the sides.
Wait.
"…Quick, can you kick one of those shards of glass towards me? I have an idea…”
“You’ve got a good point there, we do stand out. But luckily, yeah, I am. I may not be the best at it, but I can do a little bit of sewing and that kind of thing. What did you have in mind…?” He asked. “I might be able to do something to disguise us…”
It wouldn’t be too hard to make something pretty fast, pretty easily. “But we don’t have much to work with, so…”
At times like these, Link really wished he had asked Ravio how to sew. …Or, well, do anything regarding making clothing. The blacksmith’s wife usually made him clothes, and Ravio repaired them. How he never picked up on anything from either of them was actually pretty pathetic.
“Um… we could mess up our hair a bit…” he suggested, taking the other’s hat off before redoing the other’s bangs. “Like that. Course you still like the same."
He began to play with a piece of grass. "Maybe just something casual enough to blend us in. I think we could make good girls if we have to go that far, too."
"(jumps in on the slave market meme) Twilight's eyes widened. Was that who the thought it was, being auctioned off? And what could he do? He couldn't just let him be sold to someone... right?"
His wrists were bound behind his back, neck secured with a leather collar. Mounted to the collar was a leash tied to a fence, said fence belonging to the perimeter of the auctioning area. He was fourth in line, ready to meet his fate. Young boys like him were in high interests for manual labor, not to mention other forms of slavery.
A large figure passed him by, slapping him across the face. What he said was something that even Link couldn’t decipher, but whatever it was… it made the hero cringe.
His gaze met Twilight’s, and he gave the other boy a weak smile.
“…Twilight."
He’d actually done it. For a moment he’d been afraid people would have kept bidding until it got too high for him. But it seemed like luck… and maybe the Godesses were on their side. He made his way up to the stage and handed over the money.
He looked over to the younger Link and smiled at him as the auctioneer handed him the end of the leash. He could see several people glaring at him, one of them being the man who’d been bidding against him, but he just glared back and helped the other to his feet, saying, “Come on, let’s go.”
Link’s heart was all a flutter, and his head was in an even worser state. How Twilight had somehow beat out the other… he could’ve believe it. Of course, that didn’t matter now. What mattered was getting to a safe place to rest, eat, and bathe if he was lucky.
Once the older boy carefully grabbed a hold of the leash, Link moved in a bit closer. As much as how much he wanted to hold hands instead, he knew that they had to keep some semblance of Master and Property until they were out of the group’s watchful gaze.
With a slow nod, he brushed himself off, mouthing a silent thanks.
“I have no idea, honestly…” the blond mused, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to free himself from the rope tightly wrapped around his body. “What do they even want from us? We’re just kids! What can we do?"
What could they do? He couldn’t think of a thing - the squalor they were thrown into upon being snatched up unaware had nothing but broken glass along the floor and hay bales at the sides.
Wait.
"…Quick, can you kick one of those shards of glass towards me? I have an idea…”
Yeah… it seems to be getting a bit dark out, and we should rest. We could just sleep out here, I’ve had to do that before, but it’d probably be safer to find an abandoned house or something, like you said. And preferably not too close to the village, just in case…”
Although come to think of it, that would be so obvious that it’d almost be perfect. When the villagers discovered that they’d escaped, would they really think that they’d hide so close? But he’d really rather not risk it, just in case they did decide to check in the village.
“Yeah, let’s go find somewhere to stay.”
“Yup, sounds like a plan. Luckily they didn’t confiscate our wallets or anything, or else we’d really have to stay outside,” he replied, standing up and brushing the bottom of his tunic off. “Though… I feel like someone would recognize us. We’re pretty easy to describe, just say two boys in green and… we’re back in the cell again."
Sapphire eyes widened. "I have an idea. …Any good at making disguises?”
“I have no idea, honestly…” the blond mused, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to free himself from the rope tightly wrapped around his body. “What do they even want from us? We’re just kids! What can we do?"
What could they do? He couldn’t think of a thing - the squalor they were thrown into upon being snatched up unaware had nothing but broken glass along the floor and hay bales at the sides.
Wait.
"…Quick, can you kick one of those shards of glass towards me? I have an idea…”
“If they wanted us out of the way, whatever they’re up to, it can’t be anything good,” He mumbled. “We need to find a place to hide out. We should probably also try to figure out what they’re planning and somehow stop it. All without being caught… so we can clear ourselves.”
Though that would all probably be easier said than done, did they really have any other choices? It was either that or lay low and do nothing, and let whoever had framed them get away with whatever they were trying to do. He knew that most likely wouldn’t be good.
“Well… crud. We do.” He uncrossed his arms, leaning into the other even more. How late was it? Late enough to feel tired, apparently.
“We should… find somewhere to go before the sun sets. Maybe an abandoned house? An inn? Something?” Link paused, yawning. “We could try sneaking around, too. I have a feeling the soldiers are behind this, but I’m not sure."
“I have no idea, honestly…” the blond mused, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to free himself from the rope tightly wrapped around his body. “What do they even want from us? We’re just kids! What can we do?"
What could they do? He couldn’t think of a thing - the squalor they were thrown into upon being snatched up unaware had nothing but broken glass along the floor and hay bales at the sides.
Wait.
"…Quick, can you kick one of those shards of glass towards me? I have an idea…”
“Framed…? It would make sense, but… why would anyone frame us?” He wondered out loud. “What would they have to gain from that?” Maybe just having them out of the way…? Or covering their own tracks for the crime?
He sat down and sighed. “But you’re right, as of now, we’re basically fugitives. It’s best if we stay in hiding until this is figured out. And… heh, I guess so. That’s a good, positive way of looking at the situation.”
“Exactly. I think… I think it’s a way to get us out of the way, y'know? Get the town against us, get the soldiers against us… take over. That’s what happened in the past to the Legendary Hero, at least.” Link sat down next to the other, leaning on his side. “I don’t know where exactly we could go. We could live outdoors for the rest of… how long it takes for us to figure out what the heck is going on…”
He sighed and crossed his arms. “But we’d die out here without proper shelter. Ugh…"
#
