Categories > Games > Zelda > The Switch of Fate
A Switch of Fate
By: USA Tiger
Disclaimer: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.
Author Note 10-16-14: SageofSlashes has gone behind me and fixed up more grammar and spelling mistakes that I missed.
Chapter 2
“I can't believe you left me in that horrid bottle," Navi muttered as she fluttered next to Link's head as the child looked around Hyrule Castle Town with a look of awe on his face. He and the old man had gone their separate ways as soon as they got to the main square. The Kokiri had never seen anything like the city having been raised in a very simple forest village. It was also he noted, very noisy which was starting to give him a minor headache not being use to it.
“So where's this castle?" Link asked, still looking at all the people in the square. He wanted to explore this place before having to get back on task a bit. Who knows if he would ever be coming back here.
“I think it's that big white building in the distance there," Navi said, not really sure herself. " But let’s check around to make sure first." The fairy had caught the look of longing the 10 year old was giving as he looked around and decided to let her charge have a free run around a bit. Link flashed Navi a grin before he dashed off. The ball of blue light gave off a squeak of surprise before she chased off after the other.
Link spotted a red headed girl about his age standing in the middle of the square. The girl just stood there; seeming to hum a song as she looked toward the castle looking like she was waiting on something. The blond walked up behind the girl, reaching up to lightly touch her shoulder.
“Erm? Oh!" Dark blue eyes widen as she took in the boy standing before her. Violet blue eyes looked back with curiosity as Link tilted his head to the side.
“What are you doing?" Link asked, starting to wonder if children out of the forest were any different.
“Waiting," The girl started to circle other child. “Ooh! You're a fairy boy from the forest!" she said spotting Navi fluttering over his shoulder. She had heard only forest children traveled around with fairies.
"Umm, yes," he said as he watched the girl giggle and briefly stand on her toes. He was starting to think children out side of the forest weren't that different from the Kokiri.
“I’m Malon, my dad owns Lon Lon Ranch," she said with another giggle at the confused look on Link's face.
“What’s a ranch?" the blond asked, never having heard of such a thing.
“Oh, it's a big place with lots of horses," Malon held her arms out to the sides trying to show how big her home was. “We have cows too, Lon Lon Ranch is famous for its milk. And my dad likes to raise Cuccos. They’re a lot like chickens," she quickly added at the questioning look on the boy's face.
"Why are you standing out here?" Link asked looking up at the castle again.
“Oh, I'm just waiting here for my dad; he's delivering milk at the castle," The red head said, looking up at the castle longingly. “I wish I could live in the castle. Princess Zelda must have such a great life." Malon started to slip into a fantasy world, forgetting about the strange fairy boy she had just met. Link raised an eyebrow at the strange girl before looking up at Navi and shrugging his shoulders. He stood there for another moment or two, waiting to see if the girl would say anything else but Malon seemed to be totally into her fantasy. So with another shrug in Navi's direction, the boy turned and left the other child behind to continue exploring the beautiful city.
No less than 10 minutes later, Link was standing a few feet away from one of the many stands in the square, eyeing what the woman behind it was selling. Unlike most of the other selling stands scattered around, this one wasn't crowed by a big group of people. In fact most of the costumers were children and teens buying the woman's chocolate filled sweet cakes.
“‘Ello there," the woman said with a smile as she spotted Link who was still eyeing the, to him, strange looking treats. “Would you like a sweet cake? They are only 5 rupees each." The boy inched closer to the stand, the cakes sweet scent wafting up his nose. His stomach growled in response, having had nothing but the piece of bread from earlier than morning. Blushing, Link reached into his money pouch drawing out a small sapphire stone that served as currency in Hyrule. The woman gave another pleasant smile as she handed Link the cake and took the rupee. Link gave a small smile back before rushing off with his cake to find a place to sit and enjoy it.
**
"So Navi, just how am I going into the castle?" Link asked as he licks off the chocolate off his fingers. The sweet cake was a real treat for the boy and he wondered if he should get another when he left the city for Saria. He had many things to tell his best friend about the world outside of the forest.
"Walk up to the front door and ask to see the princess?" Navi suggested from her spot next to Link where she was also licking off the bit of chocolate from her own hand since Link was nice enough to give his partner a bit of his sweet cake. Since she wasn't flying around, her blue light had died down enough to be able to fully see her. She was wearing a little dress that seemed to be made out of leaves and her long blue hair was pulled up in a high pony tail. Every now and then her wings would flutter behind her. “And if that doesn't work, sneak in."
"Sneak in?" Link asked, looking down at the fairy besides him. The very thought made an uneasy feeling settle into the boy stomach. He had grown up in a very open community, it wasn't unusual for one Kokiri to just enter another's house and there was no reason to sneak in anywhere. “I.. I don't think that's such a good idea Navi."
“We really don't have a choice," the fairy said as she leaned back on her hands. “We have to see Princess Zelda anyway we can." Link frowned as he looked up at the almost church like building in front of him and his fairy partner. He still didn't like the idea at all. The uneasy feeling wouldn't go away, but Navi was right, he had to complete the Great Deku Tree's last request.
“I still don't like it," he muttered as he stood from the ground, brushing the dust off his green tunic. Navi sighed as she flew up off the ground as well, her blue light surrounding her again. The elf and fairy headed back to the square, finally time to tackle the castle. The Kokiri looked up at the castle, the uneasy feeling not disappearing. Not only did he have an uneasy feeling, but the boy was scared even. He never had to sneak in anywhere and he really didn't want to start either. Who knew what would happen if they were caught. He shook himself out of his thoughts then steeled himself for this next adventure. “I hope I don't regret this."
“Cheer up, maybe they'll just let us and you won't have to sneak in," Navi commented, trying to cheer up her charge.
***
“Well that didn't work," Link muttered as he looked around the corner of the earth wall that surrounded either side of the road that lead up to the castle. Hyrule Castle itself was beautiful, and when Link had gotten his first good look at it he had once again been in awe. The feeling had temporarily overpowered the uneasy feeling. There was a gate right in the middle of the road with a single guard in front of it. The Kokiri had asked if he could see Princess Zelda, but the guard just laughed good naturally and turned the child away. So now here Link was, being forced to sneak into the castle.
"I guess we have to sneak in now," Navi said from where she was hovering over the boy's shoulder.
"Just how are we going to do that? There are two high walls on either sides of us and that gate is the only way in," Link commented as he looked up at the fairy.
“Umm, well..." she looked around, at a loss of how to answer that. An idea popped into her head as she spotted a single vine climbing up the wall a few feet from the pair. “What about this? I think you can climb up it," The ball of blue light quickly flew over to where the vine was, Link following slowing after her. The young elf looked up at the vine with a doubtful look.
“You must be kidding," he deadpanned, turning his stare back to Navi. “I can't climb up that."
“Sure you can, you’re light enough," Navi assured Link with a little bounce in the air. “Come on, the sooner we sneak in, the sooner we can speak to the princess," She added, trying to get her charge moving. Link sighed but put his hand around the vine, giving it a tug to see if it stayed then slowly climbed up it, not fully trusting it. Once he reached up the top, Link gave a look around. The view was breath taking and if Link wasn't slightly shaking in fear from all of this, he would have enjoyed the view more. He quickly ran over to the top of the gate, climbing down the latter on the inside of the gate.
The boy slowly opened the door, peeking out to peer at the guard at the other side of the gate. His back was still turned from Link, facing outward. Link slipped out of the door, quickly sprinting up the road toward the castle. The young elf hissed as he saw two guards standing at a bend of the road. Link's heart beat rapidly as he looked around trying to figure out where to go next before the two guards spotted the boy and fairy.
Luckily the ground walls that boxed the path inclined to a hill here, allowing Link to climb on top of the hill to get past those two guards. So far the pair managed to get across the front grounds in front of the castle without being spotted, managing to get pretty close to the large palace. But their luck didn't hold out as one of the guards in front of the second gate right in front of the draw bridge stopped the young boy and the ball of light.
"Hey you! Stop!" This caught the attention of a handful of other guards. Link froze, not knowing what to do now. He tried to bolt back the way he came, one of the guard’s catching the scared boy by the arm. Pain shoot through his arm as it was twisted behind his back.
"Well what do we have here, a little thief trying to steal from the castle?" A deep voice guard asked as he leered down at the captured boy. Link whimpered, trying to get his arm lose from the hold the guard on him. Real fear was starting build up in him as the guard kept a firm hold on the Kokiri's arm.
"Throw him in the dungeons of course, that's where all thieves belong," The man holding onto Link said.
"I'm not a thief," Link said, trying harder to get out of the hold. He twisted to where his arm wasn't behind him, tears starting to trail down his pale cheeks. Navi was fluttering up in the man's face, also trying to get Link free. The man swatted the fairy away.
"Quiet boy," another guard growled, hitting Link across the face. “I say we have fun with him first," He gave a lustful sneer as he grabbed Link's face. “He has such a pretty face." Two of the other guards shared a sneer as well. Link's violet blue eyes widen, not liking the sound of that. He bit down on the hand on his face then kicked the guard holding on to him hard in the shin.
"ARGE! The little fuck kicked me," The second man yelled, lunching to grab onto Link again, but the boy dodged and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he ran away. The guards yelled, starting to throw their spears in an attempt to stop the scared 10 year old. One of the spears managed to nick Link's leg. He gave a whimper of pain but continued to run. A couple of the guards chased after him, trying to catch the boy.
“Somebody help," Link whimpered, truly and fully scared out of his mind. Behind him the guards continued yelling as he ran.
*****
Not too far away, laying in on one of the many white castle walls basking in the sun was a red headed man in his mid 20's. His hair was crimson red, almost to his shoulders, and skin was beautifully tanned, as it should be for the desert king Ganondorf Dragmire. The master thief pillowed his head on one arm while the other arm rested on his bare stomach. There was nothing better the red head like to do than rest in the sun, when he wasn't in a fight or stealing that was. He had to find a way to relax since he was still waiting to talk to the king of Hyrule, Ganondorf and his warriors had been at the castle for over a day already and the man still refused to see the desert king.
Golden eyes slid open as the sounds of yelling reached up to where he was laying, catching Ganondorf's attention.
“What in the name of Din..." he sat up, looking toward the front grounds. He noted that the guards seemed to be surrounding something. He lazily got to his feet before jumping from one wall to another till he was standing on the outer wall, looking down. The thief narrowed his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of what was in the middle of the guards, cursing when the thing turned out to be a young Hylain boy, at least he assumed it was but the fairy pointed more toward one of the forest children. “By the triad, does Hyrule's king let his guardsmen rape his land's children?" Ganondorf muttered as jumped to the ground.
Quickly and quietly, Ganondorf rushed to where the child was. He was impressed that the boy had been able to get away from the lustful guards, speaking much of untapped power. The sword and shield strapped to his back spoke that he could be a warrior, a great one at that. And Ganondorf could see all this, you learn to spot the signs after growing up in a desert tribe full of fighters.
"Somebody help," the boy whimpered, the red head's sharp ears just catching it. The boy leg was bleeding heavily after being sliced open by a random spear and a bruise starting to show on the upper right arm. Ganondorf took at as his queue to rush forward and grab the boy up just before another spear thrown by the idiot guards could hit the scared boy in the back. The small blond boy let out a scared whimper, afraid of what Ganondorf might do to him.
***
Link had been close to the edge of the small drop that led down to the road, gasping as he was grabbed up into a pair of strong arms. The Kokiri was afraid that one of those men had caught him. He let out a whimper of fear, clutching shut blue eyes, Link waited for something bad to happen.
“Lord Dragmire, thank you for capturing the thief," The guard that had first grabbed Link said with false politeness. Mistrust underlined the man's words since no one trusted one of the Gerudo much less their king.
“You fools," Ganondorf's hold on Link tightened slightly as he snarled at the small group of guards. "Is this how you treat children here?" Link opened his eyes at these words, seeming to start to understand that maybe this man holding him didn't mean to harm him. He looked up at Ganondorf taking in his tan skin, crimson red hair and golden eyes. What shocked the small elf was that the man's ears were round instead of slender and pointed.
'What race is he of I wonder,' Link thought to himself as he lightly grab the front of the Ganondorf's open vest. Navi rushed toward, settling on top of her charges hat, glaring at the castle guards.
"He is a thief, we were only doing what we thought was best," The same guard as before said. The other three nodded in agreement.
“‘What we thought was best,'" Ganondorf mocked with a sneer. "I won't allow to you have this child. Go find something else to take your sick fantasies out on." then he walked off toward Hyrule Castle Town, Link still clutched in his arms.
"Damn thieves.." The deep voice guards said glaring at the Gerudo’s back. The tanned man stiffed, turning back to return the glare at the man that had spoken.
“I may be a thief but I have sense, self honor and even high respect for children. Even Gerudos know right from wrong, unlike Hyrulians it seems. You four should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking of doing something as vile as rape to anyone."
"I'm sure your kind does it all the time," The guard that seemed to be the leader of this group said, the other three nodded their agreement.
"Don't drag my people down to your level," Ganondorf said with a sneer. Link watched the exchange between his savior and the scary guards, still grasping at Ganondorf's vest. His leg was really starting to ache as the blood continued to seep from the deep cut. “Have no doubt that you king will hear about how his people are," Ganondorf added as he continued his way to the town below the castle. Two of the guards snarled as they lunged to attack the desert king and take Link back from him. But they had to halt in their attack since there were three Gerudo female guards holding their weapons at their throats.
***
Ganondorf stepped into the square of Hyrule Castle Town, ignoring the stares the people that were still there were giving the Gerudo upon seeing him carry a 10 year old boy in his arms. Many of them noted the tear steaks on Link's cheeks, the bruise that was really beginning to show on his arm and the bloody gash on his leg. Many of the elfish people thought the Gerudo king was responsible for the Kokiri's state, while others guessed that the guards up at the castle were the culprits knowing how their King's men were at times.
Link looked up at the strange man that saved him, wondering again what race he came from. The boy had never seen skin that dark before, and the man's hair was a darker red that Mido’s or any of the other red headed Kokiri in the forest. The gold color eyes were strange to Link as well. Navi also studied Ganondorf, a bit wary unlike her charge. She realized that the red headed man that was caring the young elf in his arms toward the local inn hailed from the desert lands, which was where the two witches that cursed the Great Deku Tree was from.
"Excuse me," Ganondorf looked down at the boy in his arms, raising an eyebrow in question. A light blush stained Link’s cheeks but he really wanted to know who the man was that was carrying him around. "Who are you?" The Gerudo king chuckled a bit, shifting Link in his arms to where he could open the door to the inn.
"That can be saved for later," He said lowly before looking up at the elf maid behind the counter. "I need one of your rooms for now," he said, not telling her why he needed a room. The girl, not wanting to make the well known king of thieves mad, quickly let out a 'yes sir' as she hurriedly handed him a room key. As he passed the counter on his way back to the rooms, a couple of ruby rupees appeared on the wooden surface, paying for not only the room but for a meal later.
Ganondorf managed to unlock and open the door with one hand, stepping in and kicking the door closed behind him. He placed Link on the bed and filled the bowl on the dresser with water before wetting the rag that was sitting next to the bowl. Then he knelt down in front of Link, starting to clean the cut on his leg.
“I believe you asked me my name child," He said softly, causing Link to look up from his watching the grown man clean him up. The smaller blond nodded, wondering what he should think of this man. "It's Ganondorf," the desert king watched Link, waiting to see what reactions he would have to his name but the forest child just filed it away.
“I’m Link, and this is my fairy partner Navi!" the boy pointed happily toward Navi, who was watching the interactions between elfish boy and the Gerudo.
“Then I suppose your one of the forest children, the Kokiri,” Ganondorf said as he took out a curved dagger to cut part of the sheets off the bed into make shift bandages. He has his doubts that Link was really a Kokiri despite the fact that he wore Kokirish clothing and was in the company of a fairy. Even his people knew that the forest race was bound to the magic that seeped in the forest and to leave without the proper spells would mean certain death and the child before him had none of those spells on him from what Ganondorf’s magical senses could tell him. Meaning the child was a Hylian, not a Kokiri.
Link winced as the bandage around his leg was pulled a little too tightly. "Thank you for helping me," he said softly, looking down at his lap. Another light blush stained his cheeks; he wasn't used to this kind of attention, not even from Saria. Ganondorf made a somewhat pleased purring noise in the back of his throat, finishing tying off the bandage around Link’s leg. There was nothing he could do for the hand shape bruise on the child's arm, having never learned a healing spell in his study of magic, otherwise he would have healed the cut on the boy's leg.
"Stay here, I will get you a meal," Ganondorf said as he stood, heading to the door. Link's violet blue eyes watched the man walk out the door then turned to Navi with a small grin.
“I like him," he said with laugh. To him, Ganondorf was truly something neat, there was nothing like him in the forest and the small elf couldn't wait to tell Saria about him.
“I don't think you should trust him so easily," Navi said, flying up in front of Link's face. Link frowned at the fairy, not liking the tone of her voice.
"Why not, he saved me from those people at the castle, which by the way? It was your fault that happened, anyway," he said, glaring at Navi. The fairy made a miffed noise at the words.
"How was it my fault?!" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Because you told me to sneak in there. I didn't even want to do it," the blond said, not letting up on his glare. He really didn't like Navi, she was becoming really bossy and naggy and Link really hoped that once they finished this adventure, he never had to see her again. Even if it made him an outcast again.
"We have to talk to the princess so it's not like we had any choice but to sneak in since the guards won't let us just walk in," Navi countered, flying closer to Link's face and pointed a small finger at his nose. “Which means we're going to have to go /back/."
"What!?!" Link barked in surprise eyes wide. "I can't go back there; didn’t you see what happened last time we tried to get into that castle?" He pointed to the bandaged leg to stress his point.
"I repeat, we have to talk to the princess," Navi stressed back, putting her hands on her hips. Before Link could continue to argue with Navi on this subject, the door opened again with Ganondorf holding a tray with a bowl full of stew.
"Here," The red head said, setting the tray in Link's lap, swatting Navi out of the way, the fairy making an outraged noise.
"What is it?" Link asked, looking questionably at the meat filled stew.
"Stew, it's good," Ganondorf said as he lounged himself on one of the chairs next to the table. "Have you never had something like that before?" The boy on the bed shook his head. The Kokiri diet was made of mostly nuts, berries, mushrooms, and veggies. Sometimes they would have meat – fish, rabbits or small birds, caught with snares set in the forest and Lost Woods. But Link had never seen anything like the meal in his lap, nor had he been giving so much meat in one sitting. He took the spoon; bring a bit of stew to his mouth tasting it.
Link's eyes lit up before he started to dig in with vigor. The stew was strange to him but it wasn't bad. But he was careful to avoid most of the meat; it didn't taste the same as his usual meat.
"What are you?" he asked after a few minutes, tilting his head to the side as he looked at Ganondorf. The Gerudo gave an amused smirk, he was starting to like the blond and he was starting to wonder if he should bring the boy back with him to the desert. Link was a refreshing change from the girls in the tribe plus the Kokiri had the potential to be a great warrior. Ganondorf thought he might just fit in with the band of thieves with the right teaching.
"A Gerudo," he answered, still greatly amused by the curiosity that showed in the other's eyes. Link hummed lightly going back to his stew. Ganondorf leaned forward, watching the blond closely. Link looked up, blinking blue eyes at the tanned man.
"What?" the elf asked confused. Ganondorf shook his head lightly getting up from the chair.
"Nothing," he said, stretching lazily. Link continued to look confused, looking a bit like a lost kitten. Ganondorf couldn’t help but laugh lightly and kiss the boy lightly on the forehead. "You’re too cute. This room is yours to use till tomorrow kitten." Link gave a surprised look, not sure what to make of man's actions, or the nickname either. But it was a lot better than say, 'Mr. No Fairy'.
"Um, thanks," he said, still a bit out of it. Ganondorf gave a chuckle and headed toward the door.
"Oh, and kitten?" Link looked up toward the Gerudo, a renewed questioning look in his eyes. “If you plan on sneaking into places, it's better to do it at night." Then the thief king left out the door, leaving behind a shocked Navi and musing Link.
****
Edit 7-15-14: Several grammar and spelling mistakes fixed here.
By: USA Tiger
Disclaimer: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.
Author Note 10-16-14: SageofSlashes has gone behind me and fixed up more grammar and spelling mistakes that I missed.
Chapter 2
“I can't believe you left me in that horrid bottle," Navi muttered as she fluttered next to Link's head as the child looked around Hyrule Castle Town with a look of awe on his face. He and the old man had gone their separate ways as soon as they got to the main square. The Kokiri had never seen anything like the city having been raised in a very simple forest village. It was also he noted, very noisy which was starting to give him a minor headache not being use to it.
“So where's this castle?" Link asked, still looking at all the people in the square. He wanted to explore this place before having to get back on task a bit. Who knows if he would ever be coming back here.
“I think it's that big white building in the distance there," Navi said, not really sure herself. " But let’s check around to make sure first." The fairy had caught the look of longing the 10 year old was giving as he looked around and decided to let her charge have a free run around a bit. Link flashed Navi a grin before he dashed off. The ball of blue light gave off a squeak of surprise before she chased off after the other.
Link spotted a red headed girl about his age standing in the middle of the square. The girl just stood there; seeming to hum a song as she looked toward the castle looking like she was waiting on something. The blond walked up behind the girl, reaching up to lightly touch her shoulder.
“Erm? Oh!" Dark blue eyes widen as she took in the boy standing before her. Violet blue eyes looked back with curiosity as Link tilted his head to the side.
“What are you doing?" Link asked, starting to wonder if children out of the forest were any different.
“Waiting," The girl started to circle other child. “Ooh! You're a fairy boy from the forest!" she said spotting Navi fluttering over his shoulder. She had heard only forest children traveled around with fairies.
"Umm, yes," he said as he watched the girl giggle and briefly stand on her toes. He was starting to think children out side of the forest weren't that different from the Kokiri.
“I’m Malon, my dad owns Lon Lon Ranch," she said with another giggle at the confused look on Link's face.
“What’s a ranch?" the blond asked, never having heard of such a thing.
“Oh, it's a big place with lots of horses," Malon held her arms out to the sides trying to show how big her home was. “We have cows too, Lon Lon Ranch is famous for its milk. And my dad likes to raise Cuccos. They’re a lot like chickens," she quickly added at the questioning look on the boy's face.
"Why are you standing out here?" Link asked looking up at the castle again.
“Oh, I'm just waiting here for my dad; he's delivering milk at the castle," The red head said, looking up at the castle longingly. “I wish I could live in the castle. Princess Zelda must have such a great life." Malon started to slip into a fantasy world, forgetting about the strange fairy boy she had just met. Link raised an eyebrow at the strange girl before looking up at Navi and shrugging his shoulders. He stood there for another moment or two, waiting to see if the girl would say anything else but Malon seemed to be totally into her fantasy. So with another shrug in Navi's direction, the boy turned and left the other child behind to continue exploring the beautiful city.
No less than 10 minutes later, Link was standing a few feet away from one of the many stands in the square, eyeing what the woman behind it was selling. Unlike most of the other selling stands scattered around, this one wasn't crowed by a big group of people. In fact most of the costumers were children and teens buying the woman's chocolate filled sweet cakes.
“‘Ello there," the woman said with a smile as she spotted Link who was still eyeing the, to him, strange looking treats. “Would you like a sweet cake? They are only 5 rupees each." The boy inched closer to the stand, the cakes sweet scent wafting up his nose. His stomach growled in response, having had nothing but the piece of bread from earlier than morning. Blushing, Link reached into his money pouch drawing out a small sapphire stone that served as currency in Hyrule. The woman gave another pleasant smile as she handed Link the cake and took the rupee. Link gave a small smile back before rushing off with his cake to find a place to sit and enjoy it.
**
"So Navi, just how am I going into the castle?" Link asked as he licks off the chocolate off his fingers. The sweet cake was a real treat for the boy and he wondered if he should get another when he left the city for Saria. He had many things to tell his best friend about the world outside of the forest.
"Walk up to the front door and ask to see the princess?" Navi suggested from her spot next to Link where she was also licking off the bit of chocolate from her own hand since Link was nice enough to give his partner a bit of his sweet cake. Since she wasn't flying around, her blue light had died down enough to be able to fully see her. She was wearing a little dress that seemed to be made out of leaves and her long blue hair was pulled up in a high pony tail. Every now and then her wings would flutter behind her. “And if that doesn't work, sneak in."
"Sneak in?" Link asked, looking down at the fairy besides him. The very thought made an uneasy feeling settle into the boy stomach. He had grown up in a very open community, it wasn't unusual for one Kokiri to just enter another's house and there was no reason to sneak in anywhere. “I.. I don't think that's such a good idea Navi."
“We really don't have a choice," the fairy said as she leaned back on her hands. “We have to see Princess Zelda anyway we can." Link frowned as he looked up at the almost church like building in front of him and his fairy partner. He still didn't like the idea at all. The uneasy feeling wouldn't go away, but Navi was right, he had to complete the Great Deku Tree's last request.
“I still don't like it," he muttered as he stood from the ground, brushing the dust off his green tunic. Navi sighed as she flew up off the ground as well, her blue light surrounding her again. The elf and fairy headed back to the square, finally time to tackle the castle. The Kokiri looked up at the castle, the uneasy feeling not disappearing. Not only did he have an uneasy feeling, but the boy was scared even. He never had to sneak in anywhere and he really didn't want to start either. Who knew what would happen if they were caught. He shook himself out of his thoughts then steeled himself for this next adventure. “I hope I don't regret this."
“Cheer up, maybe they'll just let us and you won't have to sneak in," Navi commented, trying to cheer up her charge.
***
“Well that didn't work," Link muttered as he looked around the corner of the earth wall that surrounded either side of the road that lead up to the castle. Hyrule Castle itself was beautiful, and when Link had gotten his first good look at it he had once again been in awe. The feeling had temporarily overpowered the uneasy feeling. There was a gate right in the middle of the road with a single guard in front of it. The Kokiri had asked if he could see Princess Zelda, but the guard just laughed good naturally and turned the child away. So now here Link was, being forced to sneak into the castle.
"I guess we have to sneak in now," Navi said from where she was hovering over the boy's shoulder.
"Just how are we going to do that? There are two high walls on either sides of us and that gate is the only way in," Link commented as he looked up at the fairy.
“Umm, well..." she looked around, at a loss of how to answer that. An idea popped into her head as she spotted a single vine climbing up the wall a few feet from the pair. “What about this? I think you can climb up it," The ball of blue light quickly flew over to where the vine was, Link following slowing after her. The young elf looked up at the vine with a doubtful look.
“You must be kidding," he deadpanned, turning his stare back to Navi. “I can't climb up that."
“Sure you can, you’re light enough," Navi assured Link with a little bounce in the air. “Come on, the sooner we sneak in, the sooner we can speak to the princess," She added, trying to get her charge moving. Link sighed but put his hand around the vine, giving it a tug to see if it stayed then slowly climbed up it, not fully trusting it. Once he reached up the top, Link gave a look around. The view was breath taking and if Link wasn't slightly shaking in fear from all of this, he would have enjoyed the view more. He quickly ran over to the top of the gate, climbing down the latter on the inside of the gate.
The boy slowly opened the door, peeking out to peer at the guard at the other side of the gate. His back was still turned from Link, facing outward. Link slipped out of the door, quickly sprinting up the road toward the castle. The young elf hissed as he saw two guards standing at a bend of the road. Link's heart beat rapidly as he looked around trying to figure out where to go next before the two guards spotted the boy and fairy.
Luckily the ground walls that boxed the path inclined to a hill here, allowing Link to climb on top of the hill to get past those two guards. So far the pair managed to get across the front grounds in front of the castle without being spotted, managing to get pretty close to the large palace. But their luck didn't hold out as one of the guards in front of the second gate right in front of the draw bridge stopped the young boy and the ball of light.
"Hey you! Stop!" This caught the attention of a handful of other guards. Link froze, not knowing what to do now. He tried to bolt back the way he came, one of the guard’s catching the scared boy by the arm. Pain shoot through his arm as it was twisted behind his back.
"Well what do we have here, a little thief trying to steal from the castle?" A deep voice guard asked as he leered down at the captured boy. Link whimpered, trying to get his arm lose from the hold the guard on him. Real fear was starting build up in him as the guard kept a firm hold on the Kokiri's arm.
"Throw him in the dungeons of course, that's where all thieves belong," The man holding onto Link said.
"I'm not a thief," Link said, trying harder to get out of the hold. He twisted to where his arm wasn't behind him, tears starting to trail down his pale cheeks. Navi was fluttering up in the man's face, also trying to get Link free. The man swatted the fairy away.
"Quiet boy," another guard growled, hitting Link across the face. “I say we have fun with him first," He gave a lustful sneer as he grabbed Link's face. “He has such a pretty face." Two of the other guards shared a sneer as well. Link's violet blue eyes widen, not liking the sound of that. He bit down on the hand on his face then kicked the guard holding on to him hard in the shin.
"ARGE! The little fuck kicked me," The second man yelled, lunching to grab onto Link again, but the boy dodged and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he ran away. The guards yelled, starting to throw their spears in an attempt to stop the scared 10 year old. One of the spears managed to nick Link's leg. He gave a whimper of pain but continued to run. A couple of the guards chased after him, trying to catch the boy.
“Somebody help," Link whimpered, truly and fully scared out of his mind. Behind him the guards continued yelling as he ran.
*****
Not too far away, laying in on one of the many white castle walls basking in the sun was a red headed man in his mid 20's. His hair was crimson red, almost to his shoulders, and skin was beautifully tanned, as it should be for the desert king Ganondorf Dragmire. The master thief pillowed his head on one arm while the other arm rested on his bare stomach. There was nothing better the red head like to do than rest in the sun, when he wasn't in a fight or stealing that was. He had to find a way to relax since he was still waiting to talk to the king of Hyrule, Ganondorf and his warriors had been at the castle for over a day already and the man still refused to see the desert king.
Golden eyes slid open as the sounds of yelling reached up to where he was laying, catching Ganondorf's attention.
“What in the name of Din..." he sat up, looking toward the front grounds. He noted that the guards seemed to be surrounding something. He lazily got to his feet before jumping from one wall to another till he was standing on the outer wall, looking down. The thief narrowed his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of what was in the middle of the guards, cursing when the thing turned out to be a young Hylain boy, at least he assumed it was but the fairy pointed more toward one of the forest children. “By the triad, does Hyrule's king let his guardsmen rape his land's children?" Ganondorf muttered as jumped to the ground.
Quickly and quietly, Ganondorf rushed to where the child was. He was impressed that the boy had been able to get away from the lustful guards, speaking much of untapped power. The sword and shield strapped to his back spoke that he could be a warrior, a great one at that. And Ganondorf could see all this, you learn to spot the signs after growing up in a desert tribe full of fighters.
"Somebody help," the boy whimpered, the red head's sharp ears just catching it. The boy leg was bleeding heavily after being sliced open by a random spear and a bruise starting to show on the upper right arm. Ganondorf took at as his queue to rush forward and grab the boy up just before another spear thrown by the idiot guards could hit the scared boy in the back. The small blond boy let out a scared whimper, afraid of what Ganondorf might do to him.
***
Link had been close to the edge of the small drop that led down to the road, gasping as he was grabbed up into a pair of strong arms. The Kokiri was afraid that one of those men had caught him. He let out a whimper of fear, clutching shut blue eyes, Link waited for something bad to happen.
“Lord Dragmire, thank you for capturing the thief," The guard that had first grabbed Link said with false politeness. Mistrust underlined the man's words since no one trusted one of the Gerudo much less their king.
“You fools," Ganondorf's hold on Link tightened slightly as he snarled at the small group of guards. "Is this how you treat children here?" Link opened his eyes at these words, seeming to start to understand that maybe this man holding him didn't mean to harm him. He looked up at Ganondorf taking in his tan skin, crimson red hair and golden eyes. What shocked the small elf was that the man's ears were round instead of slender and pointed.
'What race is he of I wonder,' Link thought to himself as he lightly grab the front of the Ganondorf's open vest. Navi rushed toward, settling on top of her charges hat, glaring at the castle guards.
"He is a thief, we were only doing what we thought was best," The same guard as before said. The other three nodded in agreement.
“‘What we thought was best,'" Ganondorf mocked with a sneer. "I won't allow to you have this child. Go find something else to take your sick fantasies out on." then he walked off toward Hyrule Castle Town, Link still clutched in his arms.
"Damn thieves.." The deep voice guards said glaring at the Gerudo’s back. The tanned man stiffed, turning back to return the glare at the man that had spoken.
“I may be a thief but I have sense, self honor and even high respect for children. Even Gerudos know right from wrong, unlike Hyrulians it seems. You four should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking of doing something as vile as rape to anyone."
"I'm sure your kind does it all the time," The guard that seemed to be the leader of this group said, the other three nodded their agreement.
"Don't drag my people down to your level," Ganondorf said with a sneer. Link watched the exchange between his savior and the scary guards, still grasping at Ganondorf's vest. His leg was really starting to ache as the blood continued to seep from the deep cut. “Have no doubt that you king will hear about how his people are," Ganondorf added as he continued his way to the town below the castle. Two of the guards snarled as they lunged to attack the desert king and take Link back from him. But they had to halt in their attack since there were three Gerudo female guards holding their weapons at their throats.
***
Ganondorf stepped into the square of Hyrule Castle Town, ignoring the stares the people that were still there were giving the Gerudo upon seeing him carry a 10 year old boy in his arms. Many of them noted the tear steaks on Link's cheeks, the bruise that was really beginning to show on his arm and the bloody gash on his leg. Many of the elfish people thought the Gerudo king was responsible for the Kokiri's state, while others guessed that the guards up at the castle were the culprits knowing how their King's men were at times.
Link looked up at the strange man that saved him, wondering again what race he came from. The boy had never seen skin that dark before, and the man's hair was a darker red that Mido’s or any of the other red headed Kokiri in the forest. The gold color eyes were strange to Link as well. Navi also studied Ganondorf, a bit wary unlike her charge. She realized that the red headed man that was caring the young elf in his arms toward the local inn hailed from the desert lands, which was where the two witches that cursed the Great Deku Tree was from.
"Excuse me," Ganondorf looked down at the boy in his arms, raising an eyebrow in question. A light blush stained Link’s cheeks but he really wanted to know who the man was that was carrying him around. "Who are you?" The Gerudo king chuckled a bit, shifting Link in his arms to where he could open the door to the inn.
"That can be saved for later," He said lowly before looking up at the elf maid behind the counter. "I need one of your rooms for now," he said, not telling her why he needed a room. The girl, not wanting to make the well known king of thieves mad, quickly let out a 'yes sir' as she hurriedly handed him a room key. As he passed the counter on his way back to the rooms, a couple of ruby rupees appeared on the wooden surface, paying for not only the room but for a meal later.
Ganondorf managed to unlock and open the door with one hand, stepping in and kicking the door closed behind him. He placed Link on the bed and filled the bowl on the dresser with water before wetting the rag that was sitting next to the bowl. Then he knelt down in front of Link, starting to clean the cut on his leg.
“I believe you asked me my name child," He said softly, causing Link to look up from his watching the grown man clean him up. The smaller blond nodded, wondering what he should think of this man. "It's Ganondorf," the desert king watched Link, waiting to see what reactions he would have to his name but the forest child just filed it away.
“I’m Link, and this is my fairy partner Navi!" the boy pointed happily toward Navi, who was watching the interactions between elfish boy and the Gerudo.
“Then I suppose your one of the forest children, the Kokiri,” Ganondorf said as he took out a curved dagger to cut part of the sheets off the bed into make shift bandages. He has his doubts that Link was really a Kokiri despite the fact that he wore Kokirish clothing and was in the company of a fairy. Even his people knew that the forest race was bound to the magic that seeped in the forest and to leave without the proper spells would mean certain death and the child before him had none of those spells on him from what Ganondorf’s magical senses could tell him. Meaning the child was a Hylian, not a Kokiri.
Link winced as the bandage around his leg was pulled a little too tightly. "Thank you for helping me," he said softly, looking down at his lap. Another light blush stained his cheeks; he wasn't used to this kind of attention, not even from Saria. Ganondorf made a somewhat pleased purring noise in the back of his throat, finishing tying off the bandage around Link’s leg. There was nothing he could do for the hand shape bruise on the child's arm, having never learned a healing spell in his study of magic, otherwise he would have healed the cut on the boy's leg.
"Stay here, I will get you a meal," Ganondorf said as he stood, heading to the door. Link's violet blue eyes watched the man walk out the door then turned to Navi with a small grin.
“I like him," he said with laugh. To him, Ganondorf was truly something neat, there was nothing like him in the forest and the small elf couldn't wait to tell Saria about him.
“I don't think you should trust him so easily," Navi said, flying up in front of Link's face. Link frowned at the fairy, not liking the tone of her voice.
"Why not, he saved me from those people at the castle, which by the way? It was your fault that happened, anyway," he said, glaring at Navi. The fairy made a miffed noise at the words.
"How was it my fault?!" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Because you told me to sneak in there. I didn't even want to do it," the blond said, not letting up on his glare. He really didn't like Navi, she was becoming really bossy and naggy and Link really hoped that once they finished this adventure, he never had to see her again. Even if it made him an outcast again.
"We have to talk to the princess so it's not like we had any choice but to sneak in since the guards won't let us just walk in," Navi countered, flying closer to Link's face and pointed a small finger at his nose. “Which means we're going to have to go /back/."
"What!?!" Link barked in surprise eyes wide. "I can't go back there; didn’t you see what happened last time we tried to get into that castle?" He pointed to the bandaged leg to stress his point.
"I repeat, we have to talk to the princess," Navi stressed back, putting her hands on her hips. Before Link could continue to argue with Navi on this subject, the door opened again with Ganondorf holding a tray with a bowl full of stew.
"Here," The red head said, setting the tray in Link's lap, swatting Navi out of the way, the fairy making an outraged noise.
"What is it?" Link asked, looking questionably at the meat filled stew.
"Stew, it's good," Ganondorf said as he lounged himself on one of the chairs next to the table. "Have you never had something like that before?" The boy on the bed shook his head. The Kokiri diet was made of mostly nuts, berries, mushrooms, and veggies. Sometimes they would have meat – fish, rabbits or small birds, caught with snares set in the forest and Lost Woods. But Link had never seen anything like the meal in his lap, nor had he been giving so much meat in one sitting. He took the spoon; bring a bit of stew to his mouth tasting it.
Link's eyes lit up before he started to dig in with vigor. The stew was strange to him but it wasn't bad. But he was careful to avoid most of the meat; it didn't taste the same as his usual meat.
"What are you?" he asked after a few minutes, tilting his head to the side as he looked at Ganondorf. The Gerudo gave an amused smirk, he was starting to like the blond and he was starting to wonder if he should bring the boy back with him to the desert. Link was a refreshing change from the girls in the tribe plus the Kokiri had the potential to be a great warrior. Ganondorf thought he might just fit in with the band of thieves with the right teaching.
"A Gerudo," he answered, still greatly amused by the curiosity that showed in the other's eyes. Link hummed lightly going back to his stew. Ganondorf leaned forward, watching the blond closely. Link looked up, blinking blue eyes at the tanned man.
"What?" the elf asked confused. Ganondorf shook his head lightly getting up from the chair.
"Nothing," he said, stretching lazily. Link continued to look confused, looking a bit like a lost kitten. Ganondorf couldn’t help but laugh lightly and kiss the boy lightly on the forehead. "You’re too cute. This room is yours to use till tomorrow kitten." Link gave a surprised look, not sure what to make of man's actions, or the nickname either. But it was a lot better than say, 'Mr. No Fairy'.
"Um, thanks," he said, still a bit out of it. Ganondorf gave a chuckle and headed toward the door.
"Oh, and kitten?" Link looked up toward the Gerudo, a renewed questioning look in his eyes. “If you plan on sneaking into places, it's better to do it at night." Then the thief king left out the door, leaving behind a shocked Navi and musing Link.
****
Edit 7-15-14: Several grammar and spelling mistakes fixed here.
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