A Goddess' Prowess
1
The city of Hyrule. Just the utterance of the name was enough to send the vision of a grand, bustling metropolis full of fanciness and luxury coursing through the mind of the average peasant farmer. Ruled by the gentle, caressing hand of her divine Queen Zelda, the beloved lady was a key part of that Hyrulean vision. To have the chance to see her Highness in person as she journeyed through the city was a dream to nearly all of her subjects.
The people of Hyrule loved their queen and their land, so it came as no surprise that they would also treat the capital with the same awed admiration. The central plaza, in particular, was instrumental in contributing to the beauty of the city. Leading up to the royal castle, the plaza had one of the most ornate mosaics ever known in the history of Hyrule. Tens of thousands of people passed through the plaza each day, from merchants to bards to the queen's ambassadors to tourists coming to see the most out of the city's grandeur.
And now, standing smack dab in the center of the plaza with an unfurled map hiding a green head, was just one of these many tourists that visited the city each and every day. But she was not your average tourist that came for merely sightseeing, if her peculiar green hair was any indication. This rebellious tourist was named Farore, and she came to the city with the sole purpose of carrying out a mission: to deliver the Triforce of Courage to its worthy beholder.
"Hm," said Farore, turning her map upside-down with a dissatisfied frown.
Crowds of horse-drawn carriages and royal knights clopped past Farore at a quick but steady pace, some of them giving the green-haired lass curious glances as they passed by. Farore remained oblivious to all of the action around her, as she strenuously tried to find her location on the map to no avail.
"Now where am I?" Farore muttered to herself, putting her head closer to the map as if that would make things any easier. "I can't be that far from the castle."
As Farore turned the map around again, a gentlemanly voice sounded from behind her:
"Are you lost, little lady?"
Farore jumped, not expecting anyone to notice her fiddling with her map. She was more surprised that someone would actually talk to her in a busy city like this.
"Ah!" Farore gasped, finding herself face-to-face with a man in a dapper suit, smiling kindly at her.
"Pardon me if I startled you, miss. Did I hear you say you wanted to locate Hyrule Castle?"
The man was tall and slender, his hair a shiny white. A monocle was worn in his right eye, but who knew if it was actually being used as a corrective lens instead of as a sign of material wealth? As far as Farore knew, monocles had gone out of fashion a century ago. She wished someone would have had the courage to tell this man that his sense of fashion was as outdated as a jar of pickles gone bad.
Farore regretted thinking those words the moment they popped into her thought train. Shutting her eyes, the girl braced herself before she shouted at the man:
"My good sir! I do think your habit of dress, especially that monocle, has become as outdated as a jar of pickles gone bad!"
Farore clapped a hand to her mouth, knowing full well what she had just said to a benevolent stranger. She stared up at the man with horror.
The monocled man was not quite so monocled anymore. His eyes widened in shock, and that change in face of stoic gentlemanliness caused his monocle to fall out and dangle pathetically on the front of his suit. The swaying movement made the monocle look rather like a pendulum, Farore noticed.
The two of them stood there at the center of the plaza, gawking at each other. It wasn't too long before they began to attract a crowd.
Being a bit at a loss for words, Farore looked to the side and said rather sheepishly, "Erm, I'm very sorry, sir. Those words just kinda... slipped out of my mouth."
The old man blinked. But once he did, the little green-haired girl standing in front of him vanished from his sight. He looked up, and if he squinted, he could see a small head of green bob and vanish into the oncoming crowd.
The man shook his head and put his monocle back into its proper position. It appeared that he now noticed the crowd focused upon him. Garnering such attention was a burden on the man, especially after receiving refuting remarks on his dashing attire.
Innocently, the man explained to his onlookers, "I was only trying to direct her in the proper direction."
He looked back where the girl had disappeared to. Incidentally, the man noted that the girl ran off to the south, back into the hub of the city. Exactly the opposite way from the castle, he realized.
"I can't believe I've done it again!"
Farore ran doggedly through the city's winding streets and alleys with no real destination in mind. All she knew was that she wanted to get away from creating a commotion as much as possible. She had enough problems getting into the city; she didn't need anymore trouble and risk getting kicked out of the place.
Looking around to her satisfaction that nobody seemed to be following her, Farore made a sharp turn into an alley and slid into the shadows behind a dumpster. Panting slightly, she folded her map and placed it into her handbag before she looked down at the sweat-infused chain around her neck.
She looked around once more to make sure no one was around, and pulled out her necklace. There, tied and glittering on the end of it, was a golden, triangular object that glowed with the brilliance of a thousand golden Rupees. It shone as though it were a flame beacon lighting up the darkness. She held it up to eye level, glaring at it accordingly.
"This is all your fault," Farore whispered angrily. "If you would only somehow magically transform into the Triforce of Wisdom, then maybe I'll be able to figure how to get out of this mess."
A bark suddenly blared from the darkness, causing Farore to squeak and jump once more in surprise. Slowly, Farore turned her head towards the source of the noise.
There, at the end of the alley, Farore could see more than a few sets of glowing eyes in the darkness. Unlike the glow from the Triforce, the glow from these eyes were a lot more menacing - it was positively ghoulish.
"But of course that's not going to happen," Farore muttered, clutching her necklace closer to her chest.
And with that, Farore took a deep breath, picked up her belongings, and then ran out of the alley with her tail tucked beneath her legs, all the while screaming for her life with a trail of at least twenty dogs chasing after her.
"One thing just leads to another," said Farore, panting.
Farore kept looking straight at the road ahead, weaving to and fro around an occasional obstacle - an old lady, manhole geyser, paperboy, etc. - whenever she needed to avoid a head-on collision. She didn't dare look behind her, and she didn't have to. Hearing the dogs' barking was enough to tell her that if she stopped for even a moment, she'd become dog food within seconds.
By now, Farore's legs were aching. For all of the traveling she did, she still did not have enough stamina to run for more than a mile or so, having opted for almost any method of transportation that prevented her from walking when she had the chance.
"Please, give me a sign that will let me lead these dogs away from my scent," Farore gasped word-by-word in between breaths.
As if to answer her prayer, Farore was approaching a T-shaped intersection. The path to the left led to a housing area, while the right path was clearly labeled "FOOD." Heaving a sigh of relief, it was clear to Farore which path she needed to take.
The dogs, still chasing poor Farore, were soon being led out of the commercial area and into the market district of the city, where food stalls and grocery stores flooded the sides of the streets. Screaming vendors declaring daily sales and specials paused mid-shout to look at the oncoming ruckus.
The vendors and shoppers saw a small green figure approach their way, followed by a dust cloud that consisted of...
A pack of ravenous stray dogs.
The vendors resumed their screaming, except now it involved gathering their food carts and stalls and making a run for it. Shoppers quickly clambered into the nearest carriages, which started immediately after the driver whipped - merely as a pretense, of course - the horses.
Amidst all the chaos, Farore luckily had the road cleared out for her, letting her run in a straight line while leading the dogs to what they wanted most: food. As she passed by the delis and sausage stalls, a large portion of the dogs chasing her rerouted towards the heavenly distractions.
"Sorry for the loss!" Farore managed to shout as she passed by an steak stall owner trying to stop his stall from being overrun by hungry beasts.
Within a short amount of time, the pack of dogs chasing Farore dwindled considerably, leaving only the most stubborn of the dogs still chasing after her.
Farore decided to take a risk and glance behind her. Three dogs left to throw off her trail. She quickly turned her head back forward, and subconsciously felt her chest to make sure her necklace was still there. It was. Farore let out a heaving sigh. Letting that thing out of her grasp would have been the biggest disaster she could have caused.
Farore could hear a chorus of screams ring from behind her as she dashed through a presentation of the nutritious properties of Lon-Lon beef. The sound of barking let Farore know that at least one more dog fell for her ploy.
She took one more glance behind her. Just one dog left.
"Come on!" Farore panted. "I'm not tastier than all those steaks and sausages, am I?"
She made a sharp turn around a corner and looked back, trying to see if the dog was still following her. Sure enough, she could see the dog's ragged hair fly amidst all of the screaming ladies. This one was not going to give up. It was sticking to her like mud. Farore decided then and there that she would have to take extreme measures. Hoping that she had enough courage to pull this off - and this thought was all it took - Farore let out a gasp and drew her heels on the cobblestone path, grinding to a stop.
In one fluid movement, Farore swiveled around on her still lifted heels and was now face-to-face with that stupid, stubborn dog. The dog, surprised, also began sliding all of its heels onto the ground, trying to prevent a guaranteed collision.
Guaranteed until Farore stepped out of the way and stuck her foot out, however. The dog, emitting yelps of fear and of the pain soon to come, flipped over Farore's foot and performed an admirable somersault in the air before landing into a passing noodle cart.
Farore had clasped her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. She wanted to apologize to that noodle cart owner, along with all of those other people, but she knew it would only bring more trouble. Another crowd already began to gather at the impact sites of those eateries where dogs had mauled the place. If Farore squinted, she could already see some officers flooding in from the end of the street, trying to restrain people and dogs alike. No doubt interrogations about the perpetrator would soon begin. Farore wouldn't have been surprised if posters of her have already been posted up on half of the walls in the city. Quickly, she tried to slide behind a nearby fruit stall, only to have an arm suddenly wrap around her neck and a hand clap against her mouth.
"Mmh!" Farore tried to scream, pulling at her captor's arms.
"Shh!" growled a low, whispering voice. "I'm not here to hurt you. You need someplace to hide, right?"
"Mmh?" was all Farore could mumble before she was dragged into darkness.
The cacophony and discord outside was muted as soon as Farore heard a clicking sound from behind her. A few steps later and another clicking sound allowed the dark room she was brought in to suddenly flood with light. Farore blinked, and saw that she was in an empty room.
Or almost empty, that is. Aside from the torches hanging from the walls, there was nothing more in the room other than tatami mats covering the floor, a few scrolls and a wide mirror decorating the back wall of the room. All the while, Farore waited for the man's grip on her to slip to make her escape. As soon as they arrived in this room, Farore felt her oppressor's hold on her slack slightly, and she took upon the opportunity to free herself.
"Ugh!"
Farore wrenched the man's arm away from her, running towards the scroll-covered wall with her back facing the wall. She had her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. But her eyes had to widen if she wanted to get a good look at the man.
He was a rather handsome young man that looked as though he were in his twenties. His long, blond hair reached to his waist, and all he wore were loose-fitting robes that did little to hide his chiseled physique.
"Woah, there. No need to flare up like a Deku Scrub at me, miss," said the man, raising his hands.
"Who are you?" Farore asked, pointing a accusing finger at him.
The man smiled, much to Farore's surprise. He straightened up and declared loudly:
"I am one of the famous Blade Brothers - "
The Blade Brothers?
" - And a master of the sword, a knight in robed armor, a dashing young man capable of - "
"Out with it!" Farore shouted.
"W-What?" said the man.
The man cowered against the girl's intimidating glare. He cracked.
"S-Swiftblade's my name, miss."
"Why have you brought me here?" demanded Farore.
Farore recoiled when the man thrust a hand at her.
"Wait a second!" said the man assertively. "I gave you my name. It's only fair if you give me yours, miss."
Farore shoved his hand away. She glared at him. If he really was named Swiftblade, and was one of the Blade Brothers, then there would be no doubt of his chivalry. Judging from the rather rickety dojo they were in, it looked as though the man might be telling the truth. But who knew if he was telling the truth and was not just some random, amateur swords practitioner?
Wait, no. There was his hair. Unless this person was an imitator - and who would want to imitate this guy's look, unless they were a total fanatic - this man really was who he said he was.
But still, would it be all right if she revealed her identity to him?
Seeing how earnest this man seemed to be, as well as the fact that she might have been a little quick to anger when she was indeed rescued by him after she was caught in a troublesome situation with pretty much no means of escape, Farore decided that giving her name wouldn't be that harmful considering the harm that she already caused. The only consequence of this decision was that it may cause a worldwide riot if a girl sharing the name of one of the Golden Goddesses was now living amongst the people on the ground and thus cause a possible bounty to be placed on her head if she didn't have one on her already. Decisions, decisions.
"My name is Farore," sighed Farore, after weighing her options.
The man's eyes widened.
"Farore? You're named Farore? After the goddess?" Swiftblade said slowly, sitting down.
What? Well, that went better than expected.
"Ye-es?" Farore said. She shook her head, and with regained confidence, repeated, "Why have you brought me here?"
Swiftblade flashed a sunny smile at her.
"Why, a master swordsman always helps a person in need!" Swiftblade replied.
"So... a master swordsman equals superhero nowadays? Huh," said Farore, putting a hand to her hip.
This time, Swiftblade was dignified enough to smile sheepishly at her, instead of giving her that overblown grin of his.
"Don't get me wrong. I appreciate what you're doing," Farore said with her head lowered, as she examined a spot on her dress. She looked up at him. "But I have to know. What's in it for you?"
"Nothing," responded Swiftblade immediately with a shrug. "I just wanted to help you, that's all."
"You would really help a total stranger?" Farore said incredulously. She was finding Swiftblade to be more nobly foolish with each passing second. "You don't even know if I led those dogs here on purpose."
"I'm sure you did not come here with that intention in mind," said Swiftblade, crossing his arms.
He gave Farore a piercing, determined glare. Farore returned it with equal ferocity. A little pulse in her chest sounded, prompting Farore to drop her gaze.
After a pause, Farore said to Swiftblade rather begrudgingly, "Well... Thank you."
Swiftblade smiled. "So what were you doing with all of those dogs behind you, anyways?" he asked.
"Running away from them, of course," Farore said, rolling her eyes. When she saw Swiftblade's hurt expression, however, she continued, "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound sarcastic. But that's really what I was doing."
"And how?"
Farore glanced up at the ceiling. "Well... I wanted to take a rest. In an alley."
"In an... alley."
"Um, yes. I was, er, lost, you see. I was on my way to Hyrule Castle, and wanted to rest up a bit before I headed over there," Farore explained.
"Hyrule Castle, did you say?"
"Hm? Yes, Hyrule Castle. What about it?" said Farore, puzzled.
Swiftblade opened his mouth as if to say something, but was interrupted when the sound of a knock came from the door.
Quickly, Swiftblade got up and rushed over to Farore, whispering into her ear:
"Quick, hide!"
Farore didn't even bother to look around the bare and empty room.
"Where? This room has no places to hide in!" Farore whispered back.
For answer, Swiftblade gently guided her towards one of the scrolls on the wall. Farore had a pretty good idea what Swiftblade was going to do. Sure enough, in one swift motion, Swiftblade lifted up the scroll to reveal a hidden alcove... filled with swords.
Farore tried to shake her shoulder from Swiftblade's grip. Scandalously, she cried:
"You can't possibly expect me to fit in there with all of those swords!"
"Please, just try!" Swiftblade pleaded.
Farore eyed the shining blades with apprehension. Even so, she grudgingly climbed into the alcove, making sure that all of the blades were securely straight up against the wall before doing so. Swiftblade was trying his best to help her, after all.
"I swear, if these things kill me, I'll make sure you don't get on to your next life," said Farore.
"That's not a problem. I plan on staying in this world as a ghost anyways, just like my ancestor, Swiftblade the First - " began Swiftblade, only to hear some forceful knocking again. "Coming!"
Swiftblade realigned the scroll and ran to the door, where a fist was raining knocks down on it rapidly. A door clicked, and Swiftblade's voice greeted:
"Ah, hello, officers. How may I help you today?"
Farore had her ear pressed against the scroll, though she was careful not to lean on it lest she risk falling out.
Trying hard not to pull away from the coarse scroll that was making her ear itch, Farore heard a cold, authoritative voice ring out:
"Good day, sir. We have been informed that a certain bedraggled, green-haired young lady has been seen around this area."
Bedraggled? Farore's hands automatically went up to her hair-tied buns. As far as she knew, she was always as clean as a newly shaven lamb.
"Would you, by any chance, have any clues that may lead to where this girl has gone to?" continued the voice of the officer.
The sound of some rustling of papers let Farore know that the visitor was bringing out a picture of her for Swiftblade to see. She strained her ears to hear what Swiftblade's response would be. From what she knew of him since their last ten minutes together, it was that Swiftblade did not seem like a very capable liar. She hoped he wouldn't fall apart.
After a few seconds, Farore heard Swiftblade say:
"Ah, yes. It would have been impossible to not have seen that green head floating amongst the crowd."
Farore clapped a hand to her mouth, having nearly let out an affronted gasp. Was Swiftblade going to feed her to the officers?
Her worry was displaced, however, when she heard Swiftblade continue:
"I believe I saw someone looking like her go down the street, towards the central plaza. Although, I'm not certain. It's easy to get muddled with all the craziness that was going on."
"We appreciate any lead, no matter how insecure it may be," Farore heard the officer say. "Thank you for your time, sir."
"Of course," replied the voice of Swiftblade.
Farore hear some footsteps and then the sound of a door closing again. A small click to signify it was locked and after waiting a few moments to hear the militant footsteps fade away, Farore felt secure enough to let out a breath.
"Miss Farore," Swiftblade called out quietly. "The coast is clear. You can come out, now."
Farore graciously stepped out of the alcove and emerged from behind the scroll.
"Whew. Never do I want to be stuck in a room with so many sharp surfaces ever again," said Farore, rubbing the side of her face.
Swiftblade let out a deep, mirthful laugh, which resounded throughout the large room.
"You should have seen me performing at the Hyrule Festival! I probably danced with more than a hundred blades during my sword balancing act!" Swiftblade boasted.
"I'm sure it was a hoot," said Farore with a wave of her hand. "Now, what were you going to say earlier?"
"Earlier?"
"About Hyrule Castle."
"Oh, right," said Swiftblade with a slap to his reflective forehead. "About that."
A/N: Woo terrible cliffhanger.