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.
Notes: Please remember when you’re reading this chapter that this is a AU fic. This is really where it begins to change from the original story line.
Author note 10-17-14: Thanks to SageofSlashes from AO3 who’s going behind me to further fix my horrible grammar that I missed.
Chapter 3
'Ganondorf was right,' Link thought to himself as he tiredly sat up against one of the Lon Lon Ranch milk crate sitting outside one of the doors that led into the castle. Navi sat on his knee, just as tired as her charge, but neither could fall asleep thanks to the loud snores that were coming from Talon, the owner of Lon Lon ranch and father to Malon. 'It is much easier to sneak into places at night.'
The Kokiri and fairy had left the inn around dusk, getting ready to once again to sneak into the castle, as much as Link didn't want to. Memories of what happened last time with the guards still ringed in his head and the blond had a feeling he was going to have nightmares of what happen for some nights to come. Once the pair had reached the walled path that led up to the castle, they had met up with the red head from earlier, Malon, who was standing there looking up the castle with a worried look. She had told them that she was still waiting on her father and had asked Link if he could look from him once she learned he was going up to the castle. In payment, she had given the boy a Cucco egg. Link still wasn't sure what he was going to do with the egg.
Afterward, Link had once again climbed up the vine from before, this time keeping wary blue eyes on the lookout for the guards. But to the boy's surprise and delight, not only were the guards from before gone, the ones that were there were either asleep on their feet or couldn't see Link sneak across the grounds. Navi had hid herself inside the Kokiri's hat to keep her light from attracting the attention of the few guards that were still awake. After climbing up a small wall, Link was forced to swim in a moat full of very cold water to avoid being seen by the last two guards, who unlike the others that were standing around, these two were very alert and very awake.
Which led to where the blond was now, slightly shivering as the wind blew since his tunic was still wet, having to listen to Talon snore and not able to get to sleep himself because of all this.
"Oh wake up you big brute!" Navi yelled in Talon's ear, trying to wake up the Hylian. "Geez, he's harder to wake that you," the fairy said as she kicked the chubby man in the cheek. Talon snorted, reaching up to scratch at the spot, knocking Navi out of the way in the process, before resuming his snoring. Navi huffed, stomping her foot in mid-air in anger before flying over to where Link sat. The boy gave a tired amused smile as he watched before yawing again. And as he listened to the muttering fairy, he somehow fell into a fitful sleep.
****
Link jerk awake at the sound of a rooster crowing in his slender ears. The boy slapped his hands over his ears to stop the ringing before looking around for what caused the noise. Blue eyes widened as he looked down at the young Cucco sitting in the remains of the egg Malon had given him, looking quite proud of himself at having wakened his owner.
"By Din, that thing is loud," Navi said her own hands over her tiny ears. Her high pitched voice drew the attention of the Cucco, a glint appearing in his eyes as he thought 'breakfast!' The fairy eeped and started to fly around in circles with the bird following her, clucking all the way. "Ahhhh! Link save me!!!"
Link started laughing lightly, highly amused by the sight. He wished the bird would catch the annoying fairy and eat her, but he knew he couldn't let that happen.... yet.
"Alright," he said, still chuckling as he picked up the Cucco. The bird clucked in annoyance at being denied his breakfast before deciding that cuddling up against his owner was much better at the moment. Navi panted as she dropped to the ground, glad that was over with.
"I hate birds," she muttered as she got her breath back. The fairy threw an arm over her eyes, not quite ready to get up yet. Link smirked down at his partner, petting his Cucco lightly on the head. But he had to agree with one thing the other had said, the Cucco had be pretty loud, enough to wake him right away. His eyes lit up as an idea popped into his head as he turned to look at the still snoring Talon. If the Cucco could wake up Link, who was known to be a pretty heavy sleeper at times, maybe he could wake up the snoozing man. With that in mind, the Kokiri crept closer to Talon, holding out the young Cucco toward him. Seeming to pick up on his owner’s thoughts, the Cucco let out another loud crow, looking miffed when the man didn't even stir. Taking a deep breath, he let out another, this one loud enough to wake the dead.
“What in tarnation?!?" Talon yelled as he jumped up in surprise, stumbling a bit as he did. In Link's hands, the Cucco looked proud at having woken the heavy sleeping man. "Can't a person get any sleep around here?" Talon said with a yawn as he stretched his arms over his head.
“Excuse me?" Link said softly, trying to get the man's attention. Talon looked down at the ten year old and let off a gentle smile.
"Well now. Who might you be?" the rancher asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Are you Talon?" Link asked, avoiding telling the man his name.
"Yep, that's me. Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch," Talon said pointing his thumb at himself proudly, not noticing at all that Link didn't give him his own name.
"Did you know Malon is looking for you?" The Kokiri asked as he placed the Cucco on the ground. As soon as Navi noticed the bird was on the ground again, she gave a squeak as she shot up in the air to avoid the beak descending on her.
"What?!" Talon turned, starting to run toward the city. "I can't believe ah left her alone all night, she’s gonna be really mad at me!" As such, not only did Link, Navi and the Cucco get treated to the sight of a chubby man running like the hounds of hell were on his heels, but so were the guards.
"Well that was strange," Link said, watching as the dust trail from Talon settled down. "Now what?" he asked as he looked up at Navi.
"Look for the princess of course," She said, still making sure to stay away from the Cucco, who was sitting at Link's feet looking up at the fairy with hunger. Her partner sighed before looking around for a way into the castle. Spotting a door not far away that he hadn’t seen in the dark of night, Link ran to it, reaching up to tug at the knob, but the door refused to open.
"It's locked." The boy stated after a moment, finally giving up on getting the door to open. Navi 'hummed' as she looked around for another way in. Not far away from where the milk crates were, on the other side of the moat, was an opening in the wall where a small waterfall fell over a small ledge. The fairy flew over to the opening and went through it to see where the other end was. Seconds later, the blue ball of light shot out of the hole, flying over to Link, who was leaning against the locked door.
"That opening over there leads into the castle!" Navi said excitedly, bouncing in the air. Link looked over at the opening she was talking about then looked down at the freezing water below.
"I don't think I can get over this by jumping," he deadpanned after a moment. Navi huffed before flying over to the crates.
"Then push these over into the moat then jump off them," she said, hovering over the object.
"You’re kidding right?"
*****
"Did you hear about what happen yesterday?" Link froze; blue eyes darted around for the person speaking. He peered through the hedge in front of him, spotting the pair of guards on the other side. The boy stayed still, wondering how he was going to get around these two. So far he had been able to dart past the number of guards patrolling the grounds inside the castle. Navi's crazy idea of jumping into the ledge where the small tunnel was from the crates had worked, though he had missed the first couple of times, falling into the moat. Then he was almost too big to fit into the tunnel, but he how had manage to get through the opening. Following behind him was Cluck, the Cucco, who just flew over to the ledge himself. Even now, the bird was behind him, making quiet clucking noises. And yet, somehow none of the guards had noticed the small bird. And luckily, they hadn't noticed the Kokiri or his fairy either.
“You mean about the kid?" On the other side of the hedge, the two guards continued to talk. The first guard nodded, leaning against his spear. “Yeah, poor guy. Mike and his lot are a bunch of brutes. Rox said the kid came up to the gate yesterday, and asked if he ‘Could please meet the princess’."
“I can't believe they would really try to rape a little kid like that," The first guard shook his head in disbelief his scowl making his disgust clear even with his face from the nose heavily obscured by the shadows cast by the helm on his head.
“I can," The second guard said. Anything else the two would have said was interrupted by the head of the guard.
“Back to work you two!" he barked, startling the two younger men.
“Yes sir!" they both saluted their superior before starting to walk around again to guard the area. Seeing his chance, Link darted forward from behind the bush and ran as quick as he could to the other end of the mini maze, to the inner court yard where a girl in pink was looking through a little window to the inside.
“I think that's her," Navi said from her spot over his shoulder. Link nodded, starting forward to finally speak with Princess Zelda. Link's eyes widened a bit, this was the girl from one of his two nightmares. Neither boy nor fairy noticed the shadowed female sitting on the wall above them.
***
Link slowly walked up to the small raised dais where the girl was standing. The girl was so into whatever was going on the other side, she didn't once notice the Kokiri and fairy behind her until Link stepped up onto the stone steps. With a gasp, Zelda spun around, a hand flying up over her mouth as she did so.
"Who... who are you?" She asked, blinking very dark blue eyes at the site of the blond hair boy and the ball of light hovering above his shoulder. “And how did you get past the guards?"
“It wasn't easy," Navi said, deciding to answer for both her and her partner since it didn't seem Link was going to answer. Little did she know, Link was shivering slightly, an unsettled feeling washing over him as he stood near the princess. There was something wrong about her and it was weirding him out greatly. He was kicked out of his thoughts as Navi hit him lightly in the head.
“Is that... a fairy?" Zelda said, gazing up at Navi with excitement in her voice.
“Um, yes." The other child answered shifting under the girl's eerie gaze.
"Then you’re a child of the forest!" A squeal of excitement came from the girl as she clapped her hands. “Then that means you have the spiritual stone of the forest, you know that green and shining stone." Link reached into his pocket on his tunic, taking out the Kokiri emerald to show the other before sticking it back in the pocket. Zelda giggled again, holding her clasped hands to her mouth. “Then you are the one from my dream!"
"What dream?" Link asked, tilting his head a bit. Zelda got a mildly distressed expression on her face as she turned her back to them.
“I’ve been having dreams lately," She started, clasping her hands behind her back. "In the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule... But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds and lit up the ground... The light turned into a figure, holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy... I knew it was a prophecy that someone would come from the forest... Yes, I thought you might be the one..." Zelda mused as she turned back to Link who looked he was only halfway listening. The princess was a little miffed by that but she didn't let it stop her, gasping and putting a hand to her mouth with an ashamed look on her face. “Oh, I sorry. I got carried away with my story and didn't even properly introduce myself!" She put her hand down. “I’m Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. What's your name?"
"... Link." the boy, who had been listening after all, said.
"Link... strange... it sounds somewhat... familiar..." Zelda mused, a faraway look in her eyes. She was quite for a few seconds before she shook herself out of her thoughts. “Ok then! I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone!" she suddenly grasped Link's arm, giving him her version of the puppy dog eyes.
"Ok! I won't!" Link rushed out, trying to shake the girl off his arm, a creepy feeling rushing up his spine as she touched him. Zelda didn't seem to notice Link's tone or actions as she let go.
"Ok, the legend goes like this....
/The three goddesses hid the Triforce containing the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule, the power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind has their wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil... That is what has been told... So, the ancient sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones.” /The girl recited, seeming to be attempting to control her excitement at his agreeing.
"So... is this Temple of Time the entrance to the where the Triforce is?" Navi asked from her place hovering over Link's shoulder.
"Oh yes," Zelda agreed with a nod of her head. “The temple is the entrance of which you can enter the Sacred Realm. But it's sealed by a large stone wall called the Door of Time. The only way to open this door is to use all three Spiritual Stones and a treasure that has been kept by the Royal Family along with the legend, the Ocarina of Time!"
"What were you doing when we came up?" Link finally spoke up after being quiet so long, he was curious why the girl had been looking through that little window and what had held the princess's attention to the point that she hadn't heard them until Link was upon her. He rubbed where the girl had touched him, trying to chase away the odd feeling that lingered where their skin had met.
"Oh! I guess I forgot to tell you. The other element from my dream, the dark clouds? I believe that the symbolize-" Zelda suddenly turned and pointed toward the little window that looked inside the throne room, " that man!" Since her back was turned, the girl didn't see the weird look Link was giving her. He wiped it off quickly as Zelda turned back, a pleading look on her face. "Will you look through the window?"
"Oh.... ok," Link agreed, stepping over to the window with Navi floating behind him. He leaned over slightly and looked inside. The room on the other side was large, with a large throne sitting at one edge with a large blond Hylain man sitting on it, a gold circlet on his head. The man looked a bit stern but still kind in a way. On either side of the king were a couple of guards, spears held up high. On the other end of the room, two large doors opened as two Gerudo guards walked in, splitting to either side and standing next to them. Following the girls was a figure Link recognized right away.
'Ganondorf!' he thought, his blue eyes widening. The bandit king was now dressed in light armor, his crimson red hair falling into his eyes.
"See that man, the one with the evil eyes?" Zelda asked from behind Link as he watched Ganondorf knelt in front of the king, who sat upon on his throne within the room.
'Evil eyes?' Link thought to himself. He didn't agree -determination that was more the look in the man's eyes. He couldn’t see anything evil in them. Of course that was just the Kokiri’s opinion.
"That's Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudo," Zelda continued, not noticing the look of disagreement on Link's face. "They hail from the desert far to the west. Though he swears allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream, they must symbolize that man!" As though he heard her, Ganondorf suddenly turned his head toward the window. Gold eyes pinned on Link's blue one, startling the boy and causing him to fall to the ground. "Did he see you?"
"Yeah," Link said as he stood from the ground, brushing the dirt off his tunic.
"Well don't worry, he doesn't know what we're planning, yet," Zelda said mysteriously, a small smirk on her face. A confused looked crossed Link's face, they had a plan? For what?
"Did you tell anyone about your visions?" Navi asked, flying a bit closer to Zelda. She was a bit confused herself, the princess was convinced that Ganondorf was evil, but yesterday the fairy had witnessed the man save her charge. But the Great Deku tree trusted the girl so she supposed she should too.
"Yes, I told my father about my dreams," Zelda said with a sigh, clasping her hands behind her back again. "But, he doesn't believe it was a prophecy. But, I can sense that man's evil intentions. What Ganondorf must be after is the Triforce itself!"
"Then he must have come to Hyrule to obtain it!" Navi exclaimed, seeing where Zelda was going with this.
"And I believe he will try to conquer Hyrule... no, the world!" Zelda said, slamming her fist into her hand to push her point. "Link, we are the only ones that can protect Hyrule. Please, will you help?" She pleaded with the other blond, hands clasped under her chin as she leaned in close. Link still wasn't convinced Ganondorf was evil, or that he was after the all mighty Triforce. And he had the very mind to tell the princess that, if Navi hadn't crashed into his head before he could say anything.
"Ok, we'll help," he said, though he didn't want to.
"Thank you," Zelda said with a grateful smile before it turned into a frown. “I... I am afraid. I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule. He has such terrifying power. But it's fortunate that you have come. We must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce! I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power! He shall not have it!" she vowed, a gleam in her eyes. "You go find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and then defeat him!" Zelda said before getting out a piece of paper from her dress pockets to write a letter. “One more thing. Take this letter. I'm sure it will be helpful to you." She handed the letter to Link, who slipped it into the same pocket as the first spiritual stone.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Navi asked, seeing that the meeting with the princess was over. Zelda shrugged, waving a hand toward the opening to the small courtyard.
"I guess you'll have to go the same way you came in," she said, not having another way for them to go. So Link quickly walked toward the archway, wanting to get as far away from Zelda as he could to stop the creepy feeling he got around her. His Cucco clucked, following behind him, Navi doing so as well, making sure to keep out of the reach of Cluck.
*****
"Well that was helpful." Link deadpanned once they were out of earshot of the princess.
"A lot more than you know Link," Navi said, not liking the tone her charge was taking. "We now know what that man is up to!" The Kokiri glared at the fairy.
"I don't believe Ganondorf is evil. Just because that girl said so doesn't mean it's true," Link said as he peeked around the wall looking for the guards. "Plus she's just creepy, like something's wrong with her."
"You must be joking. Just because the man just happen to 'save' your life," Navi started, not believing her tiny pointed ears.
"Look, we can fight about this later, right now we need to get back out of this place," The boy said, cutting off whatever the bug was going to say.
"Maybe I can help with that!" a woman's voice said behind the both of them, a thump of something hitting the ground sounding. Link quickly spun around, facing a Gerudo woman. She was dressed different from two female guards in the throne room, but didn't look any less capable. "You know that something bad could happen to ya if these idiot Hylian guards catch you a second time?"
"I can guess," the boy deadpanned, and he could all too well. After all, those guards from yesterday would be out for revenge for being one upped like that. And it was easier to take anger out on a 10-year-old boy that it was on the desert king.
"Well, since Ganny seems to like you so much, I'll help you out," the woman said, grabbing up Link, who manage to grab his bird in time for it not to be left behind, before jumping to the higher walls of the castle. Just in time too, since a pair of guards rounded the corner at that moment. The female thief jumped and leaped out of the castle yards and into the town below, still keeping out of sight of others by staying at the rooftops till she and her passenger reached the outer wall of Hyrule Castle Town. She landed softly in front for the drawbridge, letting Link down.
"Hey! Wait… for… me!” Navi panted as she tiredly flew up. Both the woman and Link ignored her.
"Thanks, um...." The Kokiri realized the woman had never once told him her name.
"I'm Nabooru, second of command to Ganondorf," The thief said with a smirk. “So kid, gonna get those Spiritual Stones? That's a mighty great treasure to get."
"Um... well I guess so," Link didn't really know if he wanted to go after those other stones, but he had promised that creepy girl he would. And even if he didn't like her, the Kokiri was never one to go back on his word.
"Well I suggest you start there," Nabooru turned Link and pointed toward a mountain in the distance with a ring of smoke surrounding the top. "That's Death Mountain."
"Death Mountain!?!" Link interrupted, giving the woman a strange look.
"Yes Death Mountain. I didn't name it so don't look at me like that," Nabooru said, having Link look back at the strangely named rock. “There the race called the Gorons have the Spiritual Stones of Fire. And further that way," she pointed toward a river going toward another part of the mountain range. “Is Zora River, where the Zora's live and they have the Spiritual Stones of water."
"So I have to go see them for the stones?" Link asked, looking from one place to the other.
"Yep and one more thing. At the foot of the mountain is a little village called Kakariko. I suggest you stop there and rest up. You’re gonna need it," Nabooru suggested, walking back slowly from the child. "Well, good luck little warrior!" the red head said before leaping back to the top of the outer wall of Hyrule Castle Town and heading back the way she came.
"Well, we know where to go now." Navi said, finally having her breath back. "So let’s go!"
"No, I wanna go see Saria first," Link said, starting to walk toward the direction Kokiri Forest was in.
"What! We don't have time to go back to the forest, we're on a mission!" The fairy said, hurrying after the boy. But Link ignored her, continuing on his way.
****
Edit 7-16-14: Just more grammar and spelling mistakes fixed.
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.
Notes: Please remember when you’re reading this chapter that this is a AU fic. This is really where it begins to change from the original story line.
Author note 10-17-14: Thanks to SageofSlashes from AO3 who’s going behind me to further fix my horrible grammar that I missed.
Chapter 3
'Ganondorf was right,' Link thought to himself as he tiredly sat up against one of the Lon Lon Ranch milk crate sitting outside one of the doors that led into the castle. Navi sat on his knee, just as tired as her charge, but neither could fall asleep thanks to the loud snores that were coming from Talon, the owner of Lon Lon ranch and father to Malon. 'It is much easier to sneak into places at night.'
The Kokiri and fairy had left the inn around dusk, getting ready to once again to sneak into the castle, as much as Link didn't want to. Memories of what happened last time with the guards still ringed in his head and the blond had a feeling he was going to have nightmares of what happen for some nights to come. Once the pair had reached the walled path that led up to the castle, they had met up with the red head from earlier, Malon, who was standing there looking up the castle with a worried look. She had told them that she was still waiting on her father and had asked Link if he could look from him once she learned he was going up to the castle. In payment, she had given the boy a Cucco egg. Link still wasn't sure what he was going to do with the egg.
Afterward, Link had once again climbed up the vine from before, this time keeping wary blue eyes on the lookout for the guards. But to the boy's surprise and delight, not only were the guards from before gone, the ones that were there were either asleep on their feet or couldn't see Link sneak across the grounds. Navi had hid herself inside the Kokiri's hat to keep her light from attracting the attention of the few guards that were still awake. After climbing up a small wall, Link was forced to swim in a moat full of very cold water to avoid being seen by the last two guards, who unlike the others that were standing around, these two were very alert and very awake.
Which led to where the blond was now, slightly shivering as the wind blew since his tunic was still wet, having to listen to Talon snore and not able to get to sleep himself because of all this.
"Oh wake up you big brute!" Navi yelled in Talon's ear, trying to wake up the Hylian. "Geez, he's harder to wake that you," the fairy said as she kicked the chubby man in the cheek. Talon snorted, reaching up to scratch at the spot, knocking Navi out of the way in the process, before resuming his snoring. Navi huffed, stomping her foot in mid-air in anger before flying over to where Link sat. The boy gave a tired amused smile as he watched before yawing again. And as he listened to the muttering fairy, he somehow fell into a fitful sleep.
****
Link jerk awake at the sound of a rooster crowing in his slender ears. The boy slapped his hands over his ears to stop the ringing before looking around for what caused the noise. Blue eyes widened as he looked down at the young Cucco sitting in the remains of the egg Malon had given him, looking quite proud of himself at having wakened his owner.
"By Din, that thing is loud," Navi said her own hands over her tiny ears. Her high pitched voice drew the attention of the Cucco, a glint appearing in his eyes as he thought 'breakfast!' The fairy eeped and started to fly around in circles with the bird following her, clucking all the way. "Ahhhh! Link save me!!!"
Link started laughing lightly, highly amused by the sight. He wished the bird would catch the annoying fairy and eat her, but he knew he couldn't let that happen.... yet.
"Alright," he said, still chuckling as he picked up the Cucco. The bird clucked in annoyance at being denied his breakfast before deciding that cuddling up against his owner was much better at the moment. Navi panted as she dropped to the ground, glad that was over with.
"I hate birds," she muttered as she got her breath back. The fairy threw an arm over her eyes, not quite ready to get up yet. Link smirked down at his partner, petting his Cucco lightly on the head. But he had to agree with one thing the other had said, the Cucco had be pretty loud, enough to wake him right away. His eyes lit up as an idea popped into his head as he turned to look at the still snoring Talon. If the Cucco could wake up Link, who was known to be a pretty heavy sleeper at times, maybe he could wake up the snoozing man. With that in mind, the Kokiri crept closer to Talon, holding out the young Cucco toward him. Seeming to pick up on his owner’s thoughts, the Cucco let out another loud crow, looking miffed when the man didn't even stir. Taking a deep breath, he let out another, this one loud enough to wake the dead.
“What in tarnation?!?" Talon yelled as he jumped up in surprise, stumbling a bit as he did. In Link's hands, the Cucco looked proud at having woken the heavy sleeping man. "Can't a person get any sleep around here?" Talon said with a yawn as he stretched his arms over his head.
“Excuse me?" Link said softly, trying to get the man's attention. Talon looked down at the ten year old and let off a gentle smile.
"Well now. Who might you be?" the rancher asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Are you Talon?" Link asked, avoiding telling the man his name.
"Yep, that's me. Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch," Talon said pointing his thumb at himself proudly, not noticing at all that Link didn't give him his own name.
"Did you know Malon is looking for you?" The Kokiri asked as he placed the Cucco on the ground. As soon as Navi noticed the bird was on the ground again, she gave a squeak as she shot up in the air to avoid the beak descending on her.
"What?!" Talon turned, starting to run toward the city. "I can't believe ah left her alone all night, she’s gonna be really mad at me!" As such, not only did Link, Navi and the Cucco get treated to the sight of a chubby man running like the hounds of hell were on his heels, but so were the guards.
"Well that was strange," Link said, watching as the dust trail from Talon settled down. "Now what?" he asked as he looked up at Navi.
"Look for the princess of course," She said, still making sure to stay away from the Cucco, who was sitting at Link's feet looking up at the fairy with hunger. Her partner sighed before looking around for a way into the castle. Spotting a door not far away that he hadn’t seen in the dark of night, Link ran to it, reaching up to tug at the knob, but the door refused to open.
"It's locked." The boy stated after a moment, finally giving up on getting the door to open. Navi 'hummed' as she looked around for another way in. Not far away from where the milk crates were, on the other side of the moat, was an opening in the wall where a small waterfall fell over a small ledge. The fairy flew over to the opening and went through it to see where the other end was. Seconds later, the blue ball of light shot out of the hole, flying over to Link, who was leaning against the locked door.
"That opening over there leads into the castle!" Navi said excitedly, bouncing in the air. Link looked over at the opening she was talking about then looked down at the freezing water below.
"I don't think I can get over this by jumping," he deadpanned after a moment. Navi huffed before flying over to the crates.
"Then push these over into the moat then jump off them," she said, hovering over the object.
"You’re kidding right?"
*****
"Did you hear about what happen yesterday?" Link froze; blue eyes darted around for the person speaking. He peered through the hedge in front of him, spotting the pair of guards on the other side. The boy stayed still, wondering how he was going to get around these two. So far he had been able to dart past the number of guards patrolling the grounds inside the castle. Navi's crazy idea of jumping into the ledge where the small tunnel was from the crates had worked, though he had missed the first couple of times, falling into the moat. Then he was almost too big to fit into the tunnel, but he how had manage to get through the opening. Following behind him was Cluck, the Cucco, who just flew over to the ledge himself. Even now, the bird was behind him, making quiet clucking noises. And yet, somehow none of the guards had noticed the small bird. And luckily, they hadn't noticed the Kokiri or his fairy either.
“You mean about the kid?" On the other side of the hedge, the two guards continued to talk. The first guard nodded, leaning against his spear. “Yeah, poor guy. Mike and his lot are a bunch of brutes. Rox said the kid came up to the gate yesterday, and asked if he ‘Could please meet the princess’."
“I can't believe they would really try to rape a little kid like that," The first guard shook his head in disbelief his scowl making his disgust clear even with his face from the nose heavily obscured by the shadows cast by the helm on his head.
“I can," The second guard said. Anything else the two would have said was interrupted by the head of the guard.
“Back to work you two!" he barked, startling the two younger men.
“Yes sir!" they both saluted their superior before starting to walk around again to guard the area. Seeing his chance, Link darted forward from behind the bush and ran as quick as he could to the other end of the mini maze, to the inner court yard where a girl in pink was looking through a little window to the inside.
“I think that's her," Navi said from her spot over his shoulder. Link nodded, starting forward to finally speak with Princess Zelda. Link's eyes widened a bit, this was the girl from one of his two nightmares. Neither boy nor fairy noticed the shadowed female sitting on the wall above them.
***
Link slowly walked up to the small raised dais where the girl was standing. The girl was so into whatever was going on the other side, she didn't once notice the Kokiri and fairy behind her until Link stepped up onto the stone steps. With a gasp, Zelda spun around, a hand flying up over her mouth as she did so.
"Who... who are you?" She asked, blinking very dark blue eyes at the site of the blond hair boy and the ball of light hovering above his shoulder. “And how did you get past the guards?"
“It wasn't easy," Navi said, deciding to answer for both her and her partner since it didn't seem Link was going to answer. Little did she know, Link was shivering slightly, an unsettled feeling washing over him as he stood near the princess. There was something wrong about her and it was weirding him out greatly. He was kicked out of his thoughts as Navi hit him lightly in the head.
“Is that... a fairy?" Zelda said, gazing up at Navi with excitement in her voice.
“Um, yes." The other child answered shifting under the girl's eerie gaze.
"Then you’re a child of the forest!" A squeal of excitement came from the girl as she clapped her hands. “Then that means you have the spiritual stone of the forest, you know that green and shining stone." Link reached into his pocket on his tunic, taking out the Kokiri emerald to show the other before sticking it back in the pocket. Zelda giggled again, holding her clasped hands to her mouth. “Then you are the one from my dream!"
"What dream?" Link asked, tilting his head a bit. Zelda got a mildly distressed expression on her face as she turned her back to them.
“I’ve been having dreams lately," She started, clasping her hands behind her back. "In the dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the land of Hyrule... But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds and lit up the ground... The light turned into a figure, holding a green and shining stone, followed by a fairy... I knew it was a prophecy that someone would come from the forest... Yes, I thought you might be the one..." Zelda mused as she turned back to Link who looked he was only halfway listening. The princess was a little miffed by that but she didn't let it stop her, gasping and putting a hand to her mouth with an ashamed look on her face. “Oh, I sorry. I got carried away with my story and didn't even properly introduce myself!" She put her hand down. “I’m Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. What's your name?"
"... Link." the boy, who had been listening after all, said.
"Link... strange... it sounds somewhat... familiar..." Zelda mused, a faraway look in her eyes. She was quite for a few seconds before she shook herself out of her thoughts. “Ok then! I'm going to tell you the secret of the Sacred Realm that has been passed by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone!" she suddenly grasped Link's arm, giving him her version of the puppy dog eyes.
"Ok! I won't!" Link rushed out, trying to shake the girl off his arm, a creepy feeling rushing up his spine as she touched him. Zelda didn't seem to notice Link's tone or actions as she let go.
"Ok, the legend goes like this....
/The three goddesses hid the Triforce containing the power of the gods somewhere in Hyrule, the power to grant the wish of the one who holds the Triforce in his hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind has their wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil... That is what has been told... So, the ancient sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones.” /The girl recited, seeming to be attempting to control her excitement at his agreeing.
"So... is this Temple of Time the entrance to the where the Triforce is?" Navi asked from her place hovering over Link's shoulder.
"Oh yes," Zelda agreed with a nod of her head. “The temple is the entrance of which you can enter the Sacred Realm. But it's sealed by a large stone wall called the Door of Time. The only way to open this door is to use all three Spiritual Stones and a treasure that has been kept by the Royal Family along with the legend, the Ocarina of Time!"
"What were you doing when we came up?" Link finally spoke up after being quiet so long, he was curious why the girl had been looking through that little window and what had held the princess's attention to the point that she hadn't heard them until Link was upon her. He rubbed where the girl had touched him, trying to chase away the odd feeling that lingered where their skin had met.
"Oh! I guess I forgot to tell you. The other element from my dream, the dark clouds? I believe that the symbolize-" Zelda suddenly turned and pointed toward the little window that looked inside the throne room, " that man!" Since her back was turned, the girl didn't see the weird look Link was giving her. He wiped it off quickly as Zelda turned back, a pleading look on her face. "Will you look through the window?"
"Oh.... ok," Link agreed, stepping over to the window with Navi floating behind him. He leaned over slightly and looked inside. The room on the other side was large, with a large throne sitting at one edge with a large blond Hylain man sitting on it, a gold circlet on his head. The man looked a bit stern but still kind in a way. On either side of the king were a couple of guards, spears held up high. On the other end of the room, two large doors opened as two Gerudo guards walked in, splitting to either side and standing next to them. Following the girls was a figure Link recognized right away.
'Ganondorf!' he thought, his blue eyes widening. The bandit king was now dressed in light armor, his crimson red hair falling into his eyes.
"See that man, the one with the evil eyes?" Zelda asked from behind Link as he watched Ganondorf knelt in front of the king, who sat upon on his throne within the room.
'Evil eyes?' Link thought to himself. He didn't agree -determination that was more the look in the man's eyes. He couldn’t see anything evil in them. Of course that was just the Kokiri’s opinion.
"That's Ganondorf, the leader of the Gerudo," Zelda continued, not noticing the look of disagreement on Link's face. "They hail from the desert far to the west. Though he swears allegiance to my father, I am sure he is not sincere. The dark clouds that covered Hyrule in my dream, they must symbolize that man!" As though he heard her, Ganondorf suddenly turned his head toward the window. Gold eyes pinned on Link's blue one, startling the boy and causing him to fall to the ground. "Did he see you?"
"Yeah," Link said as he stood from the ground, brushing the dirt off his tunic.
"Well don't worry, he doesn't know what we're planning, yet," Zelda said mysteriously, a small smirk on her face. A confused looked crossed Link's face, they had a plan? For what?
"Did you tell anyone about your visions?" Navi asked, flying a bit closer to Zelda. She was a bit confused herself, the princess was convinced that Ganondorf was evil, but yesterday the fairy had witnessed the man save her charge. But the Great Deku tree trusted the girl so she supposed she should too.
"Yes, I told my father about my dreams," Zelda said with a sigh, clasping her hands behind her back again. "But, he doesn't believe it was a prophecy. But, I can sense that man's evil intentions. What Ganondorf must be after is the Triforce itself!"
"Then he must have come to Hyrule to obtain it!" Navi exclaimed, seeing where Zelda was going with this.
"And I believe he will try to conquer Hyrule... no, the world!" Zelda said, slamming her fist into her hand to push her point. "Link, we are the only ones that can protect Hyrule. Please, will you help?" She pleaded with the other blond, hands clasped under her chin as she leaned in close. Link still wasn't convinced Ganondorf was evil, or that he was after the all mighty Triforce. And he had the very mind to tell the princess that, if Navi hadn't crashed into his head before he could say anything.
"Ok, we'll help," he said, though he didn't want to.
"Thank you," Zelda said with a grateful smile before it turned into a frown. “I... I am afraid. I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule. He has such terrifying power. But it's fortunate that you have come. We must not let Ganondorf get the Triforce! I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all my power! He shall not have it!" she vowed, a gleam in her eyes. "You go find the other two Spiritual Stones! Let's get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and then defeat him!" Zelda said before getting out a piece of paper from her dress pockets to write a letter. “One more thing. Take this letter. I'm sure it will be helpful to you." She handed the letter to Link, who slipped it into the same pocket as the first spiritual stone.
"How are we going to get out of here?" Navi asked, seeing that the meeting with the princess was over. Zelda shrugged, waving a hand toward the opening to the small courtyard.
"I guess you'll have to go the same way you came in," she said, not having another way for them to go. So Link quickly walked toward the archway, wanting to get as far away from Zelda as he could to stop the creepy feeling he got around her. His Cucco clucked, following behind him, Navi doing so as well, making sure to keep out of the reach of Cluck.
*****
"Well that was helpful." Link deadpanned once they were out of earshot of the princess.
"A lot more than you know Link," Navi said, not liking the tone her charge was taking. "We now know what that man is up to!" The Kokiri glared at the fairy.
"I don't believe Ganondorf is evil. Just because that girl said so doesn't mean it's true," Link said as he peeked around the wall looking for the guards. "Plus she's just creepy, like something's wrong with her."
"You must be joking. Just because the man just happen to 'save' your life," Navi started, not believing her tiny pointed ears.
"Look, we can fight about this later, right now we need to get back out of this place," The boy said, cutting off whatever the bug was going to say.
"Maybe I can help with that!" a woman's voice said behind the both of them, a thump of something hitting the ground sounding. Link quickly spun around, facing a Gerudo woman. She was dressed different from two female guards in the throne room, but didn't look any less capable. "You know that something bad could happen to ya if these idiot Hylian guards catch you a second time?"
"I can guess," the boy deadpanned, and he could all too well. After all, those guards from yesterday would be out for revenge for being one upped like that. And it was easier to take anger out on a 10-year-old boy that it was on the desert king.
"Well, since Ganny seems to like you so much, I'll help you out," the woman said, grabbing up Link, who manage to grab his bird in time for it not to be left behind, before jumping to the higher walls of the castle. Just in time too, since a pair of guards rounded the corner at that moment. The female thief jumped and leaped out of the castle yards and into the town below, still keeping out of sight of others by staying at the rooftops till she and her passenger reached the outer wall of Hyrule Castle Town. She landed softly in front for the drawbridge, letting Link down.
"Hey! Wait… for… me!” Navi panted as she tiredly flew up. Both the woman and Link ignored her.
"Thanks, um...." The Kokiri realized the woman had never once told him her name.
"I'm Nabooru, second of command to Ganondorf," The thief said with a smirk. “So kid, gonna get those Spiritual Stones? That's a mighty great treasure to get."
"Um... well I guess so," Link didn't really know if he wanted to go after those other stones, but he had promised that creepy girl he would. And even if he didn't like her, the Kokiri was never one to go back on his word.
"Well I suggest you start there," Nabooru turned Link and pointed toward a mountain in the distance with a ring of smoke surrounding the top. "That's Death Mountain."
"Death Mountain!?!" Link interrupted, giving the woman a strange look.
"Yes Death Mountain. I didn't name it so don't look at me like that," Nabooru said, having Link look back at the strangely named rock. “There the race called the Gorons have the Spiritual Stones of Fire. And further that way," she pointed toward a river going toward another part of the mountain range. “Is Zora River, where the Zora's live and they have the Spiritual Stones of water."
"So I have to go see them for the stones?" Link asked, looking from one place to the other.
"Yep and one more thing. At the foot of the mountain is a little village called Kakariko. I suggest you stop there and rest up. You’re gonna need it," Nabooru suggested, walking back slowly from the child. "Well, good luck little warrior!" the red head said before leaping back to the top of the outer wall of Hyrule Castle Town and heading back the way she came.
"Well, we know where to go now." Navi said, finally having her breath back. "So let’s go!"
"No, I wanna go see Saria first," Link said, starting to walk toward the direction Kokiri Forest was in.
"What! We don't have time to go back to the forest, we're on a mission!" The fairy said, hurrying after the boy. But Link ignored her, continuing on his way.
****
Edit 7-16-14: Just more grammar and spelling mistakes fixed.
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